Pomona city councilman charged with possessing child pornography

A Pomona city councilman has been charged with possession of child pornography, authorities said this week.

Rubio Ramiro Gonzalez was charged Wednesday with possessing child pornography and taking inappropriate photographs of girls at two elementary schools where he was a substitute teacher, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Gonzalez, 45, was charged with one felony count of possessing child pornography and four misdemeanor counts of annoying or molesting a child.

According to the district attorney’s office, he inappropriately took photos of female students at Cortez and Arroyo elementary schools in Pomona. He also is accused of having pornographic images of children in his email accounts.

Gonzalez was arrested May 21 following an investigation by the district attorney’s office. He was released later that day on bond, according to jail records.

In an email to The Times, Gonzalez denied the molestation charges, but did not directly comment on the child porn allegations.

“Despite the horrific-sounding charges against me, they revolve around my inappropriate use of technology, but no child was ever molested by me,� Gonzalez said in an email to The Times.

Gonzalez added that he is the “only advocate against violence toward women and children� on the City Council and that he is one of the founders of a multi-agency human trafficking coalition that supports the police department with rescuing women and teenagers from prostitution and sex trafficking. He did not provide further comment about the charges.

An educator for more than 15 years, Gonzalez has worked in the Pomona Unified School District, the Los Angeles Unified School District and several other school districts in California and Texas, according to his biography on the city of Pomona’s website. No spokesperson from the Pomona Unified School District was available to comment on whether he is still employed with the district.

Gonzalez was elected into office in 2016. The city’s website still lists him as a councilman for District 1, but Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval issued a statement last month saying he intended to call a special meeting to discuss legal options regarding Gonzalez’s status as a council member.

Two days after his arrest, the City Council voted unanimously to censure Gonzalez and directed staff to draft a letter calling for his resignation, according to city spokesman Mark Gluba.

“This letter has been delivered to Mr. Gonzalez and, as of this date, we have not received any indication of his intent to resign from office,� Gluba said via email.

No council members were available for comment Thursday.

The case remains under investigation, and Gonzalez is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 28. If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison.

As of Thursday morning, the district attorney’s office’s spokesman, Greg Risling, said he did not know who Gonzalez’s defense lawyer was.

Times staff writer James Queally contributed to this report.