Hearing for former counselor postponed

A preliminary hearing for a former West High School counselor accused of raping a student was continued Tuesday to give a judge time to further review the testimony of the victim.

Marco Rutlelco Herrera, 52, appeared in court with his defense attorney to hear the testimony of the victim. Upon the request of the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, 3rd District Judge Tyrone Medley asked members of the public to wait outside while the victim testified, due to the sensitive nature of the case.

After about 40 minutes of testimony, Medley postponed the hearing until Sept. 20 to allow him time to review a one-hour interview with the victim taken at a Children's Justice Center.

Herrera is accused of having sex with a 14-year-old West High student multiple times between April 1 and June 30. At the time, Herrera was the girl's guidance counselor. He is charged with three counts of rape and two counts of forcible sodomy, all first-degree felonies, and five counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony.

The school's Web site indicates Herrera had been with the school for many years.

While Herrera is currently in custody, his attorney said he plans to ask the court to lower Herrera's bail amount during the next hearing.

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