LAFAYETTE, La. — A former teacher at a Louisiana school who had been previously been disciplined in Arkansas for inappropriate texting with a student was arrested Thursday after a video surfaced that shows him shirtless, apparently saying sexually suggestive things to someone he says he tutors.
Jacob de la Paz, 33, was charged by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with the federal crime of enticing a minor to produce child pornography or child sexual assault material, local news outlets reported.
De la Paz was a math teacher and track coach at St. Thomas More Catholic High School in Lafayette. He taught in Vermilion Parish schools from 2017 to 2022 and before that at Cabot High School.
He remained jailed Saturday in St. Martin Parish.
The Rev. Michael J. Russo, St. Thomas More's chancellor, wrote in a message to parents that De la Paz's employment ended Wednesday. He wrote that school officials "have no reports, evidence or reason to believe that Mr. De La Paz engaged in any type of inappropriate behavior or misconduct with any students" at the school.
He added that De la Paz "has been very effective as a teacher and coach with no complaints against him."
Russo wrote that the former teacher had been recommended by Vermilion Parish, his former employer, and had passed background checks there and with St. Thomas More. The priest wrote that De la Paz informed the school "of an isolated and imprudent infraction in his past."
At Cabot High, De la Paz faced complaints that he had "engaged in inappropriate communication/grooming" by texting extensively with a student. The Acadiana Advocate reported that De la Paz messaged the student about desiring a 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."
De la Paz appealed a recommended five-year suspension of his Arkansas teaching license, with the Arkansas Board of Education in 2019 imposing three years of probation, a $250 fine and professional training courses.
The former teacher's lawyer had told the Arkansas board that the student developed a crush on De la Paz, noting that he was 24 at the time. De la Paz told the board there was no physical contact and that the texts weren't sexually explicit. Arkansas officials, though, noted that De la Paz reciprocated the crush, as shown in 600 pages of texts.
De la Paz told the board that he was embarrassed and had let down everyone involved but said the relationship taught him "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 he was forced to resign in May 2017 when the texts were discovered, according to a hearing transcript.
Vermilion Parish Superintendent Tommy Byler told KATC-TV that the district knew of the Arkansas disciplinary proceeding when it hired De la Paz but was told the teacher remained eligible for employment. He said De la Paz received a permanent Louisiana teaching certificate after Arkansas decided not to suspend his license.