A Bronx man has been arrested for the alleged sexual assault of three girls, all of whom were under the age of 12, during a Bronx tennis after-school program over the course of two years.
Police told the Bronx Times the search for Unionport resident Gerardo Gutierrez ended in February when they arrested him at 9:25 a.m. on a slew of criminal sex acts, including three acts of child and endangerment. However, his arrest had finally been made public on Tuesday as investigators were canvassing for more information, police sources said.
From November 2019 through July 2021, police sources told the Bronx Times that Gutierrez, who has been a tennis coach for the program held at P.S. 100X, located in Soundview, and had been “preying” on the girls in the program, inviting his alleged victims for individual private sessions away from the group.
Police also suspect that Gutierrez has affected more girls in the program and are urging anyone with more information to come forward.
Gutierrez has pleaded not guilty, and according to court records, was held on $150,000 bail. Gutierrez was not a Department of Education employee, the Department tells the Times.
Jenna Lyle, a spokesman for the NYC Department of Education, told the Bronx Times, the DOE is supporting the NYPD in their investigation.
“The safety of our students is our top priority,” Lyle said. “This alleged behavior is completely unacceptable, and all allegations of sexual assault are fully investigated. Once this allegation was reported, the employee was immediately fired and is not permitted to work with DOE students.”
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.
