UPDATED: JPS instructor arrested after student alleges sexual assault, misconduct

A 54-year-old Jamestown Public Schools instructor was arrested Tuesday after a female juvenile alleged she was sexually assaulted by him, according to the Jamestown Police Department.

The incident was alleged to have happened between Monday and Tuesday. The student also alleged she received sexually explicit text messages and phone calls. The student reported the allegations Tuesday morning.

The instructor is in custody pending charges from the Stutsman County State’s Attorney’s Office.

The Jamestown Police Department would not release the name of the man arrested. The booking sheet, a public document from the Stutsman County Correctional Center, showed that Richard Laqua, 54, Jamestown, was arrested at 12:34 p.m. Tuesday.

Laqua is a construction technology instructor at the James Valley Career and Technology Center.

Jamestown Public School Superintendent Bob Toso said he learned of the allegations just before noon Tuesday.

Toso said the district’s attorney has been contacted, and that the district is reviewing its options.

The teacher will be removed from the classroom but will receive pay until the investigation is complete, he said.

The incident remains under investigation.

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