Sacramento City Unified teacher arrested for hiding teen makes first court appearance

SACRAMENTO — A Sacramento teacher was granted zero bail and pretrial release that includes a no-contact order with a teenager who was hidden at her house for nearly two years.

61-year-old Holga Castillo Olivares is a second-grade teacher at Birney Waldorf-Inspired K-8 School in the Sacramento City Unified School District.

According to the Rancho Cordova Police Department, Holga was arrested on Oct. 20 and charged with the detention of a minor with intent to conceal from a parent and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Then-15-year-old Michael Ramirez, now 17, disappeared in June 2020 and was gone for nearly two years.

In March 2022, he "inexplicably" returned home "healthy," according to a spokesperson with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.  

Ramirez was living with Olivares just 20 minutes from his Rancho Cordova home, police say.

On Monday, Olivares made her first court appearance. In it, she was granted a zero bail pretrial release and ordered to make no contact with Ramirez and his two guardians. She must also have two check-ins with court authorities every month and is subject to search at any time.

Ramirez's guardians were present at the hearing but were unable to go inside the courtroom in person. The hearing was streamed online by the court.

Olivares is due back in court in December.