MERCEDES — A former coach who was arrested in April and charged with improper relationship between educator and student was again arrested Wednesday and charged with three more sex crimes.
The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office arrested David Reyes, 53, on one charge of indecency with a child and two counts of sexual assault of a child, charges with bonds totaling $240,000 that stem from the office’s original investigation in March.
“Through the continuation of the investigation, three additional victims were located with allegations of inappropriate touching and sexual assault, which occurred ranging from one year ago to approximately twenty years,” a release from the sheriff’s office read. “The three female victims ranged in ages from thirteen to sixteen years of age.”
Back in March, Reyes was accused of giving a minor items of a sexual nature and making several verbal sexual advances while he was a coach at Mercedes ISD.
The district released a statement Wednesday in the wake of Reyes’ second arrest.
“Although limited information is available at this time, please know that Mercedes ISD continues to work closely with law enforcement officials regarding allegations of misconduct by a previous employee,” Superintendent Carolyn Mendiola wrote in the statement. “Due to privacy issues and on-going investigations, MISD is unable to comment on these allegations. Administration will continue to cooperate and collaberate (sic) with law enforcement to the fullest extent of the law as it has been within the last few months.”
The letter urges individuals with concerns about student safety to report those concerns to the district or to law enforcement.
“Please rest assured that students’ safety and well-being are the top priority at MISD,” it read.
Controversy in the community and on the school board followed Reyes’ original arrest in April.
Just two days after he was arrested the board considered suspending Mendiola, but decided against it. A push to reorganize the board was successful, however, bringing in a new board president.
The board faced heated criticism from the community about the district’s handling of the allegations against Reyes.
Later in April, three trustees pushed unsuccessfully for the district to hire an outside entity to look into administrative procedures and action taken on allegations of sexual assault and improper relationships between students and educators at Mercedes ISD.
The Monitor submitted an open records request for documents related to that investigation, however the Texas Attorney General’s Office ruled that that information was withholdable.
Trustee Pete Martinez III did not respond to a text asking whether Wednesday’s arrest warrants another push for an investigation into the district’s handling of the Reyes allegations. Trustee Oscar Hernandez, another of the three trustees supporting an investigation, declined to comment.
Trustee Eddie Howell Jr., the third supporter, responded with a thumbs up emoji but did not elaborate by press time.
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