Child Sexual Abuse and Schools

Police in Greeley, Colorado, say 34‑year‑old Franklin Middle School secretary and cross‑country coach Brenda Meza is on the run and wanted on 12 felony counts after an investigation concluded she engaged in months of sexual abuse of a 13‑year‑old eighth‑grade student. According to an arrest affidavit described by local authorities, Meza allegedly groomed the boy beginning last fall by supplying alcohol and marijuana edibles, trading sexually explicit text messages, and arranging multiple meetings, including encounters in a Walmart parking lot and at a local park where they reportedly had sexual intercourse in her car. The probe began Feb. 12 after an anonymous tip about possible abuse, and investigators say Meza admitted to her husband that she "got high" and had inappropriate interactions with the teen before the district placed her on leave and fired her by Feb. 25. Greeley Police say she left the area during the investigation and remains at large, and they are seeking to charge her with sexual assault of a child, online enticement of a minor, tampering with evidence and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The case is fueling renewed concern about school hiring and oversight as parents react online to another instance of an adult staffer accused of exploiting a middle‑school student and then vanishing before arrest.