Pahrump teacher faces sexual assault charges

Wednesday, June 3, 1998 | 10:23 a.m.

This story has been appended at the end.

Warrants have been issued charging Matthew Hollibush, 30, with two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor. Lt. Bill Becht of the Nye County sheriff's office said Hollibush would be arrested after authorities locate him.

Becht said authorities have been investigating Hollibush for the past couple of weeks after two female students came forward accusing the teacher of inappropriate touching and lewd comments.

Becht did not know if the students were in Hollibush's classes.

Pahrump, a small town located 60 miles west of Las Vegas, has been rocked by allegations of teachers having sex with students since 1994.

One high school teacher, Joseph Peterson, was sentenced in 1996 to life in prison for sexual assault on a student. Another high school teacher, Robert Worden, admitted that he had had sex with a 17-year-old student, but said it was consensual.

The incidents prompted the 1997 Legislature to enact a law making it a felony for a school official to have sex with a student.

Last month, Brian Eugene Lepley, 33, a former Pahrump substitute teacher who is HIV positive was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole for the sexual assault of a 16-year-old boy.

A follow-up found no court records indicating that Hollibush was arrested.