Juan Govea, a former Salinas High School teacher who faced sex assault charges in 2017 involving a 17-year-old student, only to have the case fall apart when the alleged victim refused to testify, was charged today with two felonies in connection with the same case.
Govea faces two counts of oral copulation with a person under the age of 18, acts which prosectors say occurred between Aug. 1, 2016 and Dec. 1, 2016. He was cited via a letter sent by the Monterey County District Attorney's Office and is not in police custody.
Govea is the son of former Monterey County Superior Court Presiding Judge Lydia Villarreal, who retired in April. When he was charged in 2017, the case was transferred to San Benito County Superior Court as the local judicial bench recused itself en masse.
Given Villarreal's retirement, it's unclear if the entire bench will recuse itself this time.
"I don't have any information at this time," says Chris Ruhl, the court's executive officer. "There's a process for it and the court will go through that process."
Govea is due to be arraigned in Monterey County Superior Court on Aug. 26. Deputy District Attorney Christopher Puck declined to comment on the case, or why the charges have been refiled.
Govea spent 11 years as a biology teacher at Salinas High, departing for a job as director of exhibits and education at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History. In December 2016, when he was 35, he was arrested in connection with the assaults on the 17-year-old.
He remained in his job at the museum.
But last August, in an anonymous Instagram post on the account thisisour831, a woman different than the alleged victim in the 2016 case came forward with a detailed account that begins in school with a flirtatious exchange, followed by playing a game on an app. When she finally won, she says Govea invited her to his home, where he served dinner and Champagne, followed by peach vodka. After that, she claims she was too drunk to go home. She spent the night and they engaged in a sex act; the woman says she was 16 or 17 when the event occurred.
Following that post, a letter signed by 15 former museum staffers called for Govea's resignation. It stated, in part: "It is our shared belief that the museum must act now to ensure the health and safety of local children and students, as well as preserve the integrity and future well-being of the long-standing community future that is the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History," they wrote. "Given the allegations that are now coming to light, we believe his resignation is the only way to achieve these goals."
Govea resigned from the museum on Sept. 3, 2020.
It is not clear from court records whether he has obtained an attorney in the newly filed case, and he could not be located for comment.
(1) comment
I remember the Juan Govea case. I was volunteering at the museum when he was arrested the first time. I was surprised the museum kept his employment after the case was dismissed. His job was to educate children at the natural history museum and volunteers were concerned about that. The truth always comes back to bite eventually called Karma.
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