Utah teacher flees country, charged with felony sex abuse of students
Jan 14, 2025, 12:10 PM | Updated: Jan 15, 2025, 8:16 pm
The suspect, Ricardo Margalho Prins, 39, of Eagle Mountain, is listed as a teacher at Rockwell Charter School, 3435 E Stonebridge Lane in Eagle Mountain, as the information technology director. (Rawf8, Adobe Stock, via KSL.com)
(Rawf8, Adobe Stock, via KSL.com)
UPDATE: The Utah County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday the suspect in this case, Ricardo Margalho Prins, left the country and was headed to Brazil. A warrant has been submitted in the case for Prins’ arrest. The sheriff’s office said Prins’ travel documents had expired earlier in 2024 and he would not be able to “legally return.”
The sheriff’s office asked any other possible victims of Prins to come forward by contacting central dispatch at 801-798-5600 and ask to speak with a sheriff’s office deputy.
The original story published on kslnewsradio.com is as follows:
EAGLE MOUNTAIN — A teacher at an Eagle Mountain high school is facing 30 felony charges accusing him of sexually abusing two students.
Ricardo Margalho Prins, 39, of Eagle Mountain, was charged Monday in 4th District Court with 10 counts of rape, object rape and 15 counts of forcible sodomy, first-degree felonies; three counts of forcible sexual abuse and aggravated assault, second-degree felonies; and unlawful kissing of a minor, a class A misdemeanor.
Officials accuse Prins of sexually abusing two teenage girls on multiple occasions. These include inside his classroom after school beginning in September. He also picked up the girls from either work or school and drove them to a “remote location” where he would sexually assault them in his car, according to charging documents.
Investigators say Prins would send messages to one student to join him in his classroom during her free period. That, or while she was at the school attending after-school events. Investigators said he would lock the door of his classroom and sexually abuse her.
On one occasion, Prins put his hands around one of the girl’s neck “and applied pressure until she passed out for a second,” the charges allege.
Prins is listed as a teacher at Rockwell Charter School, 3435 E Stonebridge Lane in Eagle Mountain. He is the information technology director. A social media post indicates Prins started teaching at the school within the past year. He has also taught math and computer science.
When reached for comment Ryan DuBois, Rockwell Charter School’s Executive Director, told KSL NewsRadio to forward requests for information to the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.
This story may be updated
