Three Texas teachers were arrested this week and charged with sex crimes involving students.
Two of the three accused teachers were also football coaches. A fourth teacher was fired for alleged sexual misconduct but has not been charged.
Ernest Herrera, 56, was arrested Monday after he admitted to sexual contact with a 13-year-old student, claiming they had “developed a relationship.”
Herrera taught social studies at Southside Independent School District’s Losoya Middle School in San Antonio.
He was charged with improper relationship between educator and student, a second-degree felony punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison.
Herrera was booked into Bexar County Jail and held on a $75,000 bond.
The district superintendent stated that Herrera was fired “effective immediately.”
Andrew McCown, 27, was arrested Wednesday and charged with having an “improper relationship” with a 17-year-old female student.
McCown is a math teacher and football coach at Roosevelt High School in San Antonio’s North East ISD.
He was reportedly placed on leave in March and will be terminated.
McCown, who is related to former NFL quarterbacks Josh and Luke McCown, was arrested in 2022 for drunk driving while he was a teacher and coach at Robinson ISD.
According to a statement to MySA, the district “conducted a background check on April 25, 2023, and at that time, it was clear and McCown was hired.”
Another football coach, Perryton ISD athletic director Cole Underwood, was arrested Wednesday and charged with sexual assault of a child, a second-degree felony.
The alleged victim is a Perryton High School student, reportedly a 14-year-old girl.
Underwood was released from Ochiltree County Jail on Thursday after posting a $125,000 bond.
According to a statement from Perryton ISD, Underwood resigned.
On Tuesday, Mansfield ISD fired a Timberview High School teacher accused of sexual misconduct with students. No charges have been filed, but trustees said they terminated the unnamed teacher “out of an abundance of caution.” Mansfield ISD police are investigating the allegations.
Reports of educator sexual misconduct have increased in recent years, but teachers preying on students is not new.
Ten years ago, Timberview High School teacher’s aide and volunteer football coach Kashann Simmons was charged with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old student at school. Simmons, a married father of two, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Texas Scorecard has reported on dozens of teachers charged with sex crimes involving students.
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