ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Many parents are asking, ‘How can I keep my child safe?’ after learning police arrested yet another local teacher. The third in recent weeks.

On Tuesday, Albuquerque police arrested Julian Gunther and took him to the Metropolitan Detention Center for reportedly sending sexual messages to someone he thought was a child.

Gunther allegedly posted online looking for women between 18 and 35-years-old to hook up. A detective with Santa Fe police reached out, posing as a 12-year-old girl, and said Gunther kept talking.

Court documents have pages of snippets of the alleged conversations between Gunther and who he thought was the girl.  Gunther reportedly said he would try not to judge the assumed girl for being 12 and kept emailing for two weeks.

Eventually, the communication moved to text messages. The alleged conversation there was too inappropriate for KOB 4 to share, but Gunther allegedly described in great detail how he would have sex with the girl.  

He also reportedly sent several naked pictures and videos. Gunther even allegedly said he was paranoid about getting sent to jail for what he was sending.

Court documents reveal Gunther sent some of the messages while he was at work at the Rio Grande Academy of Fine Arts. He taught seventh grade social studies.

Gunther revealed he’s a father to the detective in one of his messages, and also told the assumed girl she could emancipate from her mother in four years.

KOB 4 reached out to the school. Administrators say he started mid-semester this year and they did not renew his contract. They also said the leadership team didn’t receive any complaints from students, staff or parents.

KOB 4 asked why they didn’t renew the contract, but they said they couldn’t comment because it’s a personnel matter.

KOB 4 reached out to the New Mexico Public Education Department about the case. Communications Director Janelle Garcia said this type of alleged behavior has no place in our schools.

Garcia explained the department can do its own investigation into these types of allegations and can enforce disciplinary action if necessary. Ultimately, a teacher could be suspended or lose their license. Her full statement is below.

This case comes as we’ve seen two other local teachers charged with having inappropriate contact with students or worse.

Albuquerque Public School teacher, Patrick Corr, is accused of having inappropriate relationships with students at John Adams Middle Schools. Police say he also got a 15-year-old girl pregnant who was not his student. He was arrested last month and is still in jail.

U.S. Marshals picked up Hope Christian Elementary school teacher Kelly McEachran in Idaho last week. The 66-year-old is accused of inappropriately touching an 11-year-old student back in April. Another alleged victim has since come forward, and police believe there could be others. His first court appearance is July 17.

Seeing all these arrests might have parents worried. UNM Associate Professor of Psychiatry Kristina Sowar explained, even though it’s tough, it’s important to have conversations about what is a safe touch or message and what isn’t.

“If you’re doing bath time with your kiddo, if they’re going to the pool, if there’s, you know, going to be a group activity, and you’re talking to them in general about kind of like, taking care of themselves and, you know, making safe decisions. There can be some good anchor points to enter into these conversations that hopefully will reduce a little bit of the anxiety that may come up,” Sowar said.

Kids might be shy about talking to their parents directly, so Sowar suggests having three to five trusted adults they can talk to.

“Helping reiterate for kids that it’s possible that anyone can be a perpetrator of unsafe touch. And I think really making it clear for them that if this unsafe touch is happening, that that’s the most important thing to be able to talk about,” she said.

If your child is too young to talk, Sowar said you can look out for physical abnormalities or unexpected changes in habit.

Statement from New Mexico Public Education Department Communications Director Janelle Garcia:

“The safety and well-being of students is our highest priority, and behavior of this nature has no place in our schools or communities. The New Mexico Public Education Department remains committed to safeguarding every student in New Mexico and holding educators to the highest professional and ethical standards.

When a complaint is filed against an educator or NMPED becomes aware of potential unethical conduct by an educator through other means, the PED initiates a review of the allegations to determine if an investigation is warranted. If sufficient grounds exist, an investigation is opened to determine if grounds and sufficient evidence exist to take disciplinary action against a licensee. This process can lead to a hearing and potential action impacting an educator’s license, up to and including suspension or revocation.”