A 40-year-old Weslaco man received 10 years deferred adjudication Wednesday after pleading guilty to an improper relationship between an educator and a student.
Authorities arrested Tomas Perez, a former educator with the Weslaco Independent School District, on May 8, 2019, following an outcry a former student made on April 12, 2019, to a school resource officer.
Prosecutors said Wednesday that while the woman was not enrolled, she was at a school where she was taking the STAAR test in order to obtain her high school diploma.
While taking the test, Perez approached her and asked for her phone number, telling the woman that now that she wasn’t enrolled, it would be OK, according to prosecutors.
This brought back memories for the student, who reported to authorities that Perez would touch her breasts while she was in high school.
Perez, who reached a plea deal with prosecutors, was ordered to have no contact with the victim and he must relinquish his teaching certificate permanently.
He is not required to register as a sex offender.
Another aspect of the plea deal is that prosecutors agreed to not pursue two other possible cases against Perez regarding the same victim.
If Perez violates any of the terms of his plea deal, which also includes a $750 fine and 240 hours of community service, he could be sentenced to 10 to 20 years on the charge.
