Warning: The following story discusses attempted sexual assault and an attempted crime against a minor. Reader discretion is advised.
A California middle school math teacher and assistant principal is in police custody after being caught in a child exploitation sting earlier this month.
The San José Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force arrested 11 men between Feb. 3 and Feb. 6. Among the more notable men arrested was Ruben Guzman, who has worked at Sunrise Middle School in San Jose for the past six years.
According to the SJPD, Guzman began chatting online with someone he believed was a 13-year-old boy. Guzman offered money in exchange for sexual acts and intended to meet with the boy in person. Instead, he was chatting with an undercover officer and was arrested upon arriving at the meet-up site.
Officers reportedly found items in Guzman’s vehicle that were “consistent with the planned encounter,” though those items were not specified.
A San Jose middle school’s assistant principal was arrested during a child sex sting operation.
Ruben Guzman believed he was going to meet with a 13-year-old boy for sex, police said. Instead, he was met by undercover officers.
Guzman was one of 11 men arrested in the sting.… pic.twitter.com/X7CmPIXPEC
— KRON4 News (@kron4news) February 11, 2026
“With these operations specifically, we were able to apprehend the offenders before any child was harmed,” SJPD Sr. Public Information Representative Stacie Shih said.
According to ABC7 KGO, Guzman was a finalist for California Teacher of the Year in 2024. The San Francisco 49ers had also recognized the 31-year-old Guzman for his work.
“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.”
All suspects were booked and charged with attempted lewd acts with a minor, arranging meetings with a minor for sexual purposes, and other crimes related to child exploitation.
Further details on Guzman’s arrest were not immediately available as of publication. Of the 11 men caught in the sting, eight were younger than 40 years old.
It is my vision there will come a day where all education systems get a 360 investigation … every student meets the investigators after a meeting that explains the students rights and the mission statement of their educational system! https://t.co/flnLnGlh0z
— David Riedel (@daveriedel16) February 12, 2026
It is unclear whether Guzman has had any inappropriate relationships with students during his time at Sunrise Middle School. Robinson said that students and parents are aware of Guzman’s arrest.
“We are very, very glad that it did not happen to the best of our knowledge, to anybody at our school,” Robinson told ABC7.
Guzman’s official teacher bio page on Sunrise Middle School’s website remained active as of Feb. 12.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you are not alone. RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support in English and Spanish at 800-656-4673, as well as chat and text options.
