(LA)
Acadiana Advocate [Lafayette LA]
April 28, 2023
By Ashley White
A fired St. Thomas More Catholic High School teacher has been arrested and is being held in St. Martin Parish after a video circulated online that appears to show him saying sexually suggestive things to someone he says he tutors.
Jacob de la Paz, 33, was arrested Thursday night and federally charged with enticing a minor to produce child pornography/child sexual assault material, according to media reports citing the Department of Homeland Security.
As of Friday night, de la Paz was still being held in the St. Martin Parish Jail, according to a St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesperson.
De la Paz, who was a math teacher and track and field coach, was fired from STM Wednesday morning, according to an email sent from Chancellor Rev. Michael J. Russo to families and staff.
Russo said in his email that the school had “no reports, evidence or reason to believe” that de la Paz engaged in inappropriate behavior at STM.
“On the contrary, by all accounts, he has been very effective as a teacher and coach with no complaints against him,” Russo said in his Thursday morning email.
“I assure you that the school is handling this situation in accord with proper legal procedures and diocesan policies” Russo added. “As always, I ask for your continued trust of our efforts as STM continues to strive for excellence in the formation of the mind, body and soul, staying rooted in our mission to form disciples according to gospel truths and values.”
A spokesperson for the Catholic Diocese of Lafayette pointed to Russo’s email when asked for comment and said she could not provide further information.
When reached by phone Thursday afternoon, de la Paz declined to comment at this time
Previous resignation
Before working in Acadiana, de la Paz was an educator in Arkansas.
In August 2015, the state’s Professional Licensure Standards Board Ethics Subcommittee received a complaint against him alleging de la Paz violated two standards: that an educator maintains a professional relationship with students in and out of the classroom and that an educator maintains competence regarding their professional practice, inclusive of professional and ethical behavior, skills, knowledge, dispositions, and responsibilities relating to his or her organizational position.
The subcommittee found in December that year there was reasonable belief de la Paz had violated those standards and “engaged in inappropriate communication/grooming” with a junior student over text, according to Arkansas State Board of Education documents. He messaged the student about their future relationship and asked the student to lie about their relationship for them to “protect each other” and that they had to be “very good actors.”
The subcommittee unanimously voted to recommend the teacher have his license suspended for five years and a $500 fine.
de la Paz appealed that recommendation in July 2019 while he was working at North Vermilion High School in Maurice. He told the board he was forthcoming with North Vermilion administration about his discipline and appeal.
He told the appeal board the messages were “never sexually explicit” and there was never an “inappropriate physical relationship.”
“My actions have not been without consequences,” he told the board. “I was essentially asked to leave my alma mater, which was my dream job. I moved out of the town that I called home for 13 years. I incurred a heavy financial burden in retaining the services of an attorney.
“But the worst consequence for me is the embarrassment and the regret that I feel in letting down my family, my friends, and my colleagues, and the (student) athlete involved.”
He also told the board that he was a lot more “aware and perceptive to what my interactions with students” could look like to others.
“It has definitely made me more conscientious of that and what it means to strictly be there for an educational basis and to not let it get to the point where my rapport with students puts me in the situation to where I’m teetering the line between what is professional and what is not,” he said at the time.
During the appeal hearing, de la Paz’s attorney, who is from Lafayette, told the appeal board that the student developed a crush on de la Paz, who was a “young millennial track coach” and 24 at the time, according to transcripts. In addition to coaching the student, de la Paz also tutored them.