Dimite el director del colegio Highlands El Encinar tras caso de abuso sexual.

The director of Highlands El Encinar School, Father Jesús María Delgado, has submitted his resignation almost three weeks after the case of the chaplain working at the center and who was arrested on charges of sexually abusing at least one student became known.

In a statement released this Monday, Father Javier Cereceda, president of the Board of Directors of the Regnum Christi Schools in Spain, has conveyed the news of the resignation to families, teachers, and staff of the school.

In a letter, Delgado acknowledges that the situation the school is facing has caused «profound pain» and has led to distrust in the institution, prompting him to step down. «I want to express to those who feel disappointed and distressed by the disillusionment that I share the pain they feel. I apologize for all this pain,» he said.

The former director has stated that the school must now enter a new phase, «with the urgent task of undertaking the necessary reforms to continue seeking excellence, healing the pain, and restoring lost trust.»

«For this task, I believe that the school needs a new leadership that will take on our educational mission of educating our students with renewed energy and regain the full trust of their families,» he points out.

Both the Territorial Council of the Legionaries of Christ and the Board of Directors of the Regnum Christi schools, in extraordinary meetings, have accepted his resignation.

Taking over the leadership from this moment is Marilú Álvarez, who has 15 years of experience in the educational field since she began working at Le Châtelard Academy (Switzerland) in 2009, where she served as a training instructor until 2014 and as a counselor since 2011.

In 2014, she came to Spain as a high school training instructor at the Royal Monastery of Santa Isabel School (Barcelona), and since 2019, she has held the same position at Highlands El Encinar.

«I want to reiterate our firm commitment to excellence and the values that inspire our educational work. We face this situation with determination and courage, striving to be steadfast in fulfilling the commitments we have made to this educational community, now especially in need of hope, trust, and repair,» Javier Cereceda concludes in the statement.