CLEVELAND -- A Cleveland police officer pleaded guilty to having sex with a minor Thursday morning.
Maria Velez, 24, pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact with a minor, attempted felonious assault and tampering with evidence. She was previously charged with sexual battery.
Velez had sex on multiple occasions with a 13-year-old boy when she worked as a bilingual paraprofessional teacher's aide at Clark Elementary School in 2015. Velez is also accused of asking the boy to lie to detectives when she learned of the investigation.
She resigned from her position at the school in December 2015 and joined the Cleveland Division of Police.
