Mesquite teacher accused of grooming student, 14, spending the night with her at school
Mesquite teacher accused of grooming student, 14
Police say video evidence shows the now-former 54-year-old teacher spending the night with a 14-year-old girl at school during the summer break. Kids told police he would give the middle school student rides, visit her outside of school, buy her gifts and inappropriately touch her.
BALCH SPRINGS, Texas - A now-former Mesquite ISD middle school teacher is behind bars after being accused of child grooming.
Police say they have video evidence of the 54-year-old teacher and coach spending the night with a student at school during the summer break.
Sergio Gonzalez is charged with felony child grooming related to a 14-year-old girl who was a student at A.C. New Middle School, according to the Balch Springs Police Department.
A complaint was first made in August when three school employees brought up their concerns to the district about an improper relationship between Sergio and a student, the affidavit states.
Sergio Gonzalez (Photo: Balch Springs Police Department)
The school district then began looking into the claims and, on August 20, placed Sergio on administrative leave.
The district reported its findings to the Balch Springs Police Department a few days later.
"There was accusations that there was text messages between the student and the teacher making inappropriate comments," Pedro said.
During that time, a district employee discovered surveillance video from July during the summer break of "the suspect grabbing the victim’s buttocks and then walking down the hallway while holding hands before entering the classroom," the affidavit states.
"There was video footage of the individuals walking down the hallways, carrying pillows and blankets, spending the night at the school," explained Balch Springs Police Officer Pedro Gonzalez. "Both the teacher and the student were spending the night at the school."
According to an affidavit, the 14-year-old during a forensic interview was "downplaying the situation while demonstrating her deep concern for [Gonzalez] and what happens to him."
A.C. New Middle School
The behavior is not uncommon in child grooming cases.
"And that’s why this has been such a lengthy investigation," Pedro said. "Building this case where the victim is not cooperating 100 percent."
Kids close to the 14-year-old victim told investigators Sergio would give her rides in his personal vehicle, visit her outside of school, buy her gifts and inappropriately touch her.
Police say the girl’s family knew the two spent time together but did not know the relationship crossed lines.
"They had contact with him. They knew of him," Pedro said.
The detective believes the student’s parents trusted the teacher.
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Sergio and the 14-year-old oftentimes communicated via social media accounts, according to the affidavit.
Words like "baby," "love" and "miss you" were allegedly sent by Sergio as well as instructions to "delete some texts and not let [her] parents know they were communicating," according to the complaint.
Sergio was arrested at his home in Forney Wednesday morning but refused to talk to detectives.
Balch Springs police say additional upgraded charges are possible.
Mesquite ISD says Sergio was hired by the district in 2004. He was placed on administrative leave during the investigation but resigned before it was complete.