Taw Kwon Do Instructor Allegedly Assaulted Students
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - A well-known martial arts instructor is accused of sexually assaulting some of his students. Police say they know of three victims but fear there are more.
Raul Alberto Gutierrez-Hernandez ran the Tae Kwon Do Tegura on North Salida in Aurora. He is charged with sex assault on a child and sex assault on a child by a person in a position of trust.
The investigation started with one victim, according to Aurora police spokesman Det. Bob Friel.
"A young teen girl came forward and made a very serious allegation that her tae kwon do instructor over the last several years had been sexually assaulting her," Friel said.
Gutierrez-Hernandez was arrested Wednesday and within hours he bonded out. His bond had been set at $50,000.
"We think it's important for the community to know that this individual is out there free on bond," Friel said.
Gutierrez-Hernandez originally had his studio in an Aurora strip mall next to the Ace Hardware on Peoria. Last year he moved to the new location on North Salida.
The building owner at the new location told CBS4 her property manager will be in touch with Gutierrez-Hernandez on Monday.
"She's going to have him served with an eviction notice because apparently his last rent check bounced,"
Kathleen Mansfield-Hall said. "So it's automatic -- we can evict for that, but you still have to go through the process."
Since Gutierrez-Hernandez is free on bond CBS4 tried to locate him. His neighbor says he left town with his wife and 3 children.
"He was just packing up and moving out, just saying he was moving to Dallas, Texas, because his dad lived down there and he had several good businesses down there, and it wasn't working out for him up here," Bob Bartek said.
Bartek says he never mentioned his recent arrest.
Aurora police believe Gutierrez-Hernandez has had contact with martial arts students for the past five to 10 years. Police ask parents to find an opportunity to talk to their children because it's possible there are more than the three victims.
Gutierrez-Hernandez is a 4th degree black belt and was 4 time Mexican national champion. He won a "2009 Coach of the Year" award, and Tae Kwon Do Tegura also won multiple awards over the years.
The studio was for both kids and adults.
