A former Salinas High School teacher charged with statutory rape goes to court.

Salinas police arrested 35-year-old Juan Govea on Dec. 15 on charges of statutory rape, alleging he had sex with a 17-year-old girl.

The alleged victim was a student at Salinas High School while Govea was a teacher there. He taught biology for 11 years at Salinas High, where he was a well-liked teacher, before starting a job as director of exhibits and education at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History last year. While he’s still technically employed by the museum, he has not worked in the museum since his arrest.

The case has moved forward slowly, in part because it was transferred to another county. Govea is related to a Monterey County Superior Court judge, so the entire bench recused itself due to a conflict in trying his case – namely, convicting a colleague’s relative.

“It is not unusual for a court to transfer a case to a neighboring jurisdiction to avoid any perception of bias,” Monterey County Superior Court spokesperson Nona Medina writes by email. “This type of situation arises.”

Govea entered a plea of not guilty in San Benito County Superior Court on Jan. 31, and will be back there on March 8 to set a preliminary hearing, when prosecutors lay out the basis of their case.

That date, the judge is also expected to rule on a request by prosecutors for a protective order, requiring Govea to avoid contact with the victim. Deputy District Attorney David Rabow, who is handling the case, says that’s standard procedure for him when a minor is involved: “It’s to make sure the victim is not influenced by contact with the suspect,” he says.