SJ assistant principal arrested for communicating with boy for sex, part of child exploitation sting

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- A trusted member of the San Jose community thought he was communicating with a child online, offering money in exchange for sexual acts.

But when 31-year-old Ruben Guzman arrived at the meet-up, it was not a 13-year-old boy, it was San Jose police. Guzman was a math teacher and assistant principal at Sunrise Middle School in San Jose for the past six years.

"These chat operations specifically were conducted by undercover officers," SJPD Sr. Public Information Representative Stacie Shih said. "With these operations specifically, we were able to apprehend the offenders before any child was harmed."

Guzman's arrest was part of a large-scale proactive operation by San Jose Police during Super Bowl week.

Ten other men were arrested for crimes related to child exploitation that occurred on various online platforms.

News of Guzman's arrest sent shockwaves through the school.

"While this is deeply upsetting, it does not reflect who we are as a school," Sunrise Principal Teresa Robinson said. "He was a highly regarded teacher and administrator. Again, there was nothing in his work record or his prior work record, said other schools to indicate anything had any problems with his work."

Guzman was honored in 2024 as a finalist for California Teacher of the Year and recognized by the San Francisco 49ers for his work in the classroom as well.

Robinson said students and parents are aware of the incident and counselors have been made available.

"We are very, very glad that it did not happen to the best of our knowledge, to anybody at our school, that safety will continue to be our top priority," Robinson said.

Police say there may be victims who were involved with these men. If you have any information, contact SJPD.