An Austin elementary school teacher who worked with kindergarten kids was busted for possessing child porn.
Irving Perez, 33, was arrested Monday night and charged with possession of child pornography, a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison
Perez is a Pre-K teacher at Wayside Schools in Austin, a charter school system for students in pre-K3 through 12th grade.
The school said he is on administrative leave, according to a report by KXAN.
Wayside told KXAN that the incident did not occur at the school and does not involve any of their students.
School officials said they decided to “immediately escort” the teacher off campus after they were notified Monday afternoon of a Texas Department of Public Safety investigation into Perez.
An Instagram account linked to Perez was allegedly used to obtain and share child pornography materials, including a video file containing child porn, in 2022.
Wayside said parents of students in Perez’ classroom were “personally notified” on Wednesday.
State Board for Educator Certification records show Perez was certified as an educational aide in 2018 but Perez’ certificate expired in February 2020.
According to county records, Perez was booked into the Travis County Correctional Complex on May 15 and is being held on a $20,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on May 25.
Texas Scorecard has reported on multiple Texas educators accused of possessing or trafficking in child pornography, as well as dozens of teachers charged with sex crimes against students.
