October 28, 2005
Cops: Ex-teacher threatened in sex case
By ANSLEE WILLETT
THE GAZETTE
A teenager who denied having a sexual relationship with his former Wasson High School teacher was arrested this week for allegedly
threatening her and her husband.
Victor Ivan Gomez, 18, is scheduled to appear in court next week on suspicion of criminal trespass, a felony, and harassment, a misdemeanor.
His former teacher, Gwen Anne Cardozo, 33, was arrested in April on suspicion of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, a felony.
She said she had a sexual relationship with Gomez, but the teen denied the relationship and skipped a court hearing for which he was
subpoenaed to testify.
Cardozo was given a four-year deferred sentence Sept. 6 after a plea deal.
Her guilty plea requires her to avoid contact with Gomez, register as a sex offender, take part in sex offender treatment and potentially remain
under supervision the rest of her life.
The relationship was discovered in February when a student teacher who was grading work for Cardozo found sexually explicit letters between
Cardozo and the teen.
Cardozo told Colorado Springs police that Gomez forced his way into her Uintah Street apartment Sept. 19, and she told him to leave,
according to an arrest affidavit.
“Gomez told her no restraining order could reach farther than his shotgun and that he knew where she is at all times,” officer Matt Hulett wrote in
the affidavit.
Gomez left after 15 minutes, according to the affidavit, which didn’t say whether Gomez was armed when he threatened Cardozo.
Cardozo told police that two days later Gomez confronted her in her apartment parking lot. As she got into her van with her 3-year-old daughter,
Gomez pre- vented her from closing the door, the affidavit states.
“Gomez told her that he would rip the door off,” Hulett wrote in the affidavit. “Gomez then threw a note on her seat and said, ‘I’ll kill him,’” referring
to her husband, Paul Cardozo.”
The affidavit didn’t say what was in Gomez’s note.
Cardozo drove away and Gomez followed for several minutes until he saw her on her cell phone, the affidavit states. She called 911 and went to
the police station to report both incidents.
The affidavit is dated Sept. 21, and it was unclear Thursday why Gomez wasn’t arrested until Tuesday.
He was released from jail Wednesday on a personal-recognizance bond.
In the sexual assault case, Cardozo told police she had sex with the teen at least three times a week for at least two months when he was a
senior. He was in her English class when he was a junior.
James Dostal, the attorney who represented Cardozo, said the teen has called her periodically.
“She is wanting to keep her marriage intact and is under court orders not to have any contact with him and is absolutely respecting those
orders,” Dostal said Thursday. “He was having, I think, a difficult time accepting that and was trying to continue seeing her, despite her telling
him this was over. She was making it clear to him, ‘I don’t want to be with you nor can I be with you.’”
Cardozo was placed on administrative leave and resigned from Wasson in March after teaching English for 10 years.
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Guv'mint
Skoolin'
"DUHMAG.COM"
2005
