School cop accused of sex assault of student
GALVESTON, TX (KTRK) -- A former Galveston school district police officer has been arrested on several charges, including sexual assault of a child.
The Galveston Police Department arrested former Galveston ISD Police Officer Victor Cervantes at about 2:30pm Wednesday.
On October 20th, Galveston police were notified by Galveston ISD Police Department officials that they believed one of their officers, Cervantes, had been having inappropriate relationships with one or more students. During the course of Galveston PD's investigation it was discovered that over the previous year, Cervantes reportedly engaged in sexual acts with one underage female student on two occasions, and sent sexually explicit text messages to another female student.
Cervantes has been charged with sexual assault of a child, online solicitation of a minor, and two counts of improper educator-student relationship, all felonies in the state of Texas. Cervantes' bond has been set at $35,000.
Galveston ISD Superintent Kelli Moulton issued the following statement: "Upon learning of alleged inappropriate contact with a Galveston Ball HS student, school officials immediately placed a Galveston ISD employee on administrative leave. The employee has since resigned and the alleged conduct continues to be under investigation. We take this matter very seriously, and we are deeply concerned that it appears something of this nature and this seriousness has happened at one of our schools and to one of our students. Galveston ISD and the Galveston Police Department are working closely to maintain a safe and secure environment for all our students."
Officials are investigating to see if there may be any more victims. The Galveston Police Department is asking anyone who may have information concerning this offense or any other involving this individual to call police at 409-765-3776.
MORE RECENT SEX CASES
The charges against Cervantes are the latest in a string of recent cases involving school employees.
On Monday, an HISD kindergarten teacher was charged with a felony after allegedly touching a female student's genitals on several occasions. According to charging documents, Berry Elementary School teacher David Salisbury put his hands down a 5-year-old girl's pants while the rest of the class watched a movie on September 20th.
Last week it came to light that a Houston ISD associate teacher is under investigation after allegations of inappropriate contact with students. In a letter sent to parents, the district says the first grade teacher at Looscan Elementary was immediately removed from the classroom.
At the end of October, the FBI arrested a Katy ISD cafeteria worker accused of having hundreds of files containing child pornography on his electronic devices. Allen Wayne McNeill, 51, faces charges for possession of child pornography after federal agents showed up to his home with a search warrant.
