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Police arrested Mercedes ISD employee Frank Omar Fuentes Monday on charges of having an inappropriate relationship with a student, a second degree felony.
The 53-year-old Mission resident was arraigned Tuesday and given a bond of $40,000, a release from Mercedes police said.
“This is an ongoing investigation,” the release said.
Jail records indicated that Fuentes was booked there late Tuesday and released early the next morning.
Attempts to reach interim Mercedes Police Chief Blanca Sanchez failed Tuesday.
Asked about rumors that a Mercedes High School teacher had been arrested and was facing significant charges, Superintendent Carolyn Mendiola issued a statement saying the district “cannot comment on the current allegations against a school employee” given the sensitivity of the investigation.
“The safety and security of Mercedes ISD students and staff is the District’s top priority,” the statement read. “All matters dealing with students and personnel at Mercedes ISD are taken seriously, with respect to privacy, and addressed in accordance with law and policies.”
She added that “upon notice of employee misconduct, administration immediately works with law enforcement and other appropriate agencies to ensure a thorough investigation is conducted.”
Instructional materials posted by Mercedes High’s social studies department describe Fuentes as a teacher in that department.
According to Fuentes’ Linkedin account, he’s taught at the district since August 2016.
The Monitor submitted an open records request for documents related to Fuentes’ arrest Wednesday morning.
Just over a year ago, the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office arrested David Reyes, a middle school coach at the district, on the same charge. Subsequent charges against Reyes, 53, included indecency with a child and two counts of sexual assault of a child.
Reyes’ arrest caused an uproar at the district.
Community members hurled complaints at the district’s board over how the incident was handled and trustees considered launching an investigation into administrative procedures and action taken on allegations of sexual assault, an investigation the board ultimately voted against conducting.
The Reyes scandal also preceded turmoil amidst the district’s leadership.
Within a day of his original arrest, the superintendent had narrowly avoided being placed on administrative leave after a successful push to reorganize the school board’s officers booted Trustee Oscar Hernandez from the presidency.
A vocal supporter of hiring an outside entity to investigate the Reyes incident, Hernandez was voted back into the president’s chair in November.
Hernandez declined to comment Wednesday about whether he felt some sort of investigation was necessitated by Fuentes’ arrest and whether he would call for one.
