IRVING, Texas — A 28-year-old former teacher in Irving accused of continuous sex abuse of a young child has been released from jail on bond, police said.
Irving police said Victor Hugo Moreno, a second-grade teacher in the Irving Independent School District, resigned at the end of the 2021 school year, and was arrested on July 21 after he allegedly assaulted one of his 7-year-old female students.
Moreno taught at Barron Elementary School in the Plano Independent School District for the 2021-22 school year and was fired because of a code of conduct violation, Irving police said in a news release.
Plano ISD sent a letter to parents about Moreno's arrest, noting that his "separation from Plano ISD is not due his arrest by Irving PD."
The Plano Police Department said it did not receive the report about the 2020-21 Irving ISD incident until the spring semester of the 2021-22 school year.
Irving police said in a news conference that they found Moreno did student teaching and tutoring prior to his employment with Irving ISD.
Moreno was given a $10,000 bond for the continuous sex abuse of a young child charge and a $5,000 bond for an improper relationship between student and educator, police said.
Moreno bonded out of jail and was not in custody as of July 28, according to police.
The magistrate who set Moreno's bond, Jonathan Vickery, did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
In bond documents, he cited 'facts of the offense' and 'community safety" as the reasons why he set Moreno's bond the way he did.
No other specifics of the case were provided.
Lisa Herrick is a former prosecutor who worked in the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office for eight years. During that time, she prosecuted a number of sexual assault cases.
Herrick said there could be facts of the cases not known publicly that lead to a lower bond, but considering the charge said the bond was abnormal.
"That is a very low bond for the offense," Herrick said. "Continuous sexual abuse of a child has minimum confinement of 25 years if convicted. It's one of the highest punishment ranges we have in Texas."
Irving police aren't too happy either.
"Seeing someone like this get such a low bond from Dallas County and being able to bond out so easily is disappointing," an Irving police spokesperson said in a news conference. "I would say someone who is committing crimes against children is definitely someone who should have a higher bond."
Police said they believe there are additional victims of Moreno, and they're encouraging anyone whose child could have interacted with him at either Irving ISD or Plano ISD to have those discussions with their children, family members, and friends.
"There's nothing that's leading us...to believe this was just an isolated incident," said Irving police officer Robert Reeves.
Police ask that if anyone knows a victim, or is a victim of Moreno to contact the Irving Police Department at (972)273-1010 if you live in Irving, the Plano Police Department at (972)424-5678 if you live in Plano or call 911.
Irving ISD sent WFAA the following statement:
Irving ISD is committed to the safety of our students, and we expect all staff to adhere to the highest ethical practices and conduct. We are aware of the arrest of former Townsell Elementary School teacher Victor Moreno.
Moreno has not been an employee of the district for more than a year and has not had access to any district campus.
District administration continues to cooperate with the ongoing police investigation. Any questions or further information about this matter should be directed to the Irving Police Department at (972)273-1010.
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) sent WFAA the following statement:
Certified educators are investigated through processes outlined by the State Board for Educator Certifications or SBEC, and in accordance with Texas Education Code (TEC) §21.007 and Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §249.14, investigatory flags are applied to their virtual certificate. That flag is visible to any member of the public who searches the TEA/SBEC certificate lookup page.
The educator in question does have a flag on his virtual certificate.
Below is information on who is placed on the Do Not Hire Registry:
TEC §22.094 and §22.095, along with TAC §153.1205, require that the names of non-certified individuals under investigation be placed online. The names of non-certified employees who have been flagged will appear in the Do Not Hire Registry.
TEC §22.092 requires that TEA place the names of any individuals, i.e., certified and non-certified, found ineligible for employment on the Do Not Hire Registry.
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