Former Lexington County kindergarten teacher sentenced for sexually abusing a student

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– According to the Eleventh Circuit Solicitor’s Office, a former kindergarten teacher at Red Bank Elementary School was sentenced to the maximum 15 years after pleading guilty to criminal sexual conduct with a minor, third degree. Officials say 43-year-old Hianlucas Isturiz Rodriguez was employed as a Spanish language immersion teacher at the school from 2014-2017, when he was terminated following a student’s report of abuse.

Hianlucas Isturiz Rodriguez
Courtesy: Lexington County Detention Center

In April 2017, authorities say Rodriguez told her parents that Rodriguez was inappropriately touching her at school. School officials brought the reports to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, who corroborated the story through evidence found at the school and interviews with other students.

According to investigators, Rodriguez fled the country to South America, once he found in Ecuador, he was placed on administrative leave. Authorities say the FBI, U.S. Marshals and Columbia Metropolitan Airport Department of Public Safety were able to extradite Rodriguez back to the United States in December 2019.

After his release, officials say Rodriguez will have to register as a sex offender and subject to electronic monitoring. Authorities say he also faces extradition to his home country of Venezuela after he is released.