A Marin County jury convicted Francisco Javier Herrera Cortez, a 28-year-old cafeteria worker who rotated among schools in the Tamalpais Union High School District, of seven felony charges including rape and unlawful intercourse with a minor on Tuesday, following a trial in which a student testified he supplied her alcohol and marijuana before they had sex. Herrera Cortez, who lives in San Rafael, has been held in no-bail custody at the Marin County Jail since his arrest in June.
The case, first reported by the Marin Independent Journal, traces back to concerns students at Redwood High School in Larkspur raised roughly two weeks before his arrest, prompting district leadership to alert local law enforcement, according to the Marin County Visitor. District officials classified Herrera Cortez as an itinerant food service worker who moved between multiple campuses in central and southern Marin, including sites in Corte Madera and Greenbrae, according to the same outlet. Central Marin police alleged he had a six-month relationship with the student, whom he met at her school.
Testimony Detailed Alcohol, Social Media Contact
During the two-week trial, the student testified that Herrera Cortez bought her alcohol and marijuana before they had sex, and that she was 15 years old when the crimes started, per police. She said she communicated with him through social media and that the relationship ended in December. Prosecutors accused Herrera Cortez of sexually assaulting the girl twice in his car, while the prosecution separately alleged he tried to sexually assault another teenage girl in his car while she was intoxicated — an incident for which prosecutors did not charge him.
Marin County Deputy District Attorney Daniel Madow moved to dismiss a charge of oral copulation by force after the jury deadlocked on that count. Prosecutor Roopa Krishna questioned Herrera Cortez about following minors on social media during the trial, and said the victim's demeanor and tears on the stand were credible. Herrera Cortez testified that he knew the girl was attracted to him but denied being attracted to her, and separately denied flirting with the victim.
Defense Argued Reasonable Doubt
Defense attorney Jon Rankin called on jurors to consider reasonable doubt about the damaging testimony presented at trial. Rankin said his client, whom he described by his first name, is a decent guy and that the relationship got out of hand and was exaggerated. Jury deliberations lasted about two days before the panel returned its verdict.
After the verdict, Madow said justice was done. Herrera Cortez remains on unpaid leave from the district, which has continued to employ him in a non-working capacity pending the resolution of the criminal case and formal dismissal proceedings.
District Moves to Finalize His Dismissal
Tamalpais Union High School District Superintendent Courtney Goode said the district will continue to pursue Herrera Cortez's dismissal. Under California Education Code Sections 44836 and 45123, public school districts are legally barred from employing or retaining anyone convicted of a defined sex offense against a minor, according to FindLaw.
The district serves roughly 4,730 students across five campuses drawing from ten elementary feeder districts in central and southern Marin County, according to Ballotpedia. Under California's universal free meals program, the district provides free daily breakfast and lunch to every enrolled student, per the Tamalpais Union High School District, a policy that put cafeteria staff like Herrera Cortez in regular contact with students across its sites.
Sentencing Exposure Under State Law
Judge Geoffrey Howard plans to schedule the sentencing date during a hearing Thursday, per the Marin Independent Journal's reporting. Under California Penal Code Section 264, a felony rape conviction carries a baseline state prison term of three, six, or eight years along with mandatory sex offender registration under Penal Code Section 290, according to Cron, Israels & Stark. Separately, unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor under 16 by an adult 21 or older is punishable by two, three, or four years in state prison under Penal Code Section 261.5(d), per the Law Office of Nic Cocis.
The case arrives amid a broader statewide push for accountability in school hiring. California Assembly Bill 2534, which took effect January 1, established heightened reporting and tracking mandates meant to stop school employees investigated or terminated for misconduct against minors from moving to other districts undetected, according to Edpursuit. All public school employees in California are classified as mandated reporters required to immediately report reasonable suspicion of minor sexual abuse to law enforcement under the state's Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, per Advocate Magazine.
