An East Texas teacher and football coach was jailed after allegedly raping a 16-year-old student in his pickup truck while parked at a convenience store.
Investigators say Derek Bryan Peveto used his position as a school district employee to facilitate a criminal sexual relationship with the girl.
Peveto, 46, was arrested Monday and charged with sexual assault of a child, a second-degree felony punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison. Sexual assault is the statutory term for rape in Texas. The state’s legal age of consent is 17.
The girl is a student in the Hardin-Jefferson Independent School District, where Peveto worked during the 2025-26 school year before taking a job this summer with Jasper ISD—his fourth job change since 2020.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by KFDM, the girl’s parents reported the allegations in person to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and voluntarily surrendered their daughter’s electronic devices.
The parents told investigators the girl was involved in a sexual relationship with a football coach at her school, identified as Peveto, and had communicated with him using her cellular devices.
Investigators’ search of the devices found photos and videos that “clearly identified” the student and Coach Peveto “engaging in sexual intercourse on or about June 13, 2026,” according to the affidavit.
It was discovered that Peveto picked up the 16-year-old child in Beaumont, Jefferson County TX and transported the child to a Fuel Maxx convenience store where the sexual assault occurred in his truck. Investigators determined that there have been multiple encounters using Peveto’s truck at multiple locations.
“Based on the investigation, there is probable cause to believe that Derek Peveto intentionally and knowingly committed the offense of Sexual Assault of a Child, while using his position as a school district employee to facilitate the relationship,” the affidavit concludes.
Hardin-Jefferson ISD released a statement acknowledging that an unnamed “former teacher” had been taken into custody over allegations of an “inappropriate relationship with a student at Hardin-Jefferson High School.”
The district stated that it had “promptly taken all necessary steps to notify the Texas Education Agency and Child Protective Services and is fully cooperating with law enforcement officials conducting the investigation.”
“The safety, security, and well-being of our students remains our highest priorities,” the district added.
Peveto was hired by Jasper ISD as a coach for the 2026–27 school year.
After being notified of his arrest, Jasper ISD Superintendent John Seybold stated that the district had “immediately ended the individual’s at-will summer coaching assignment and revoked his offer of employment”—also without naming Peveto.
“Jasper ISD takes all allegations involving student safety seriously,” stated Seybold, adding that at this time there is no information indicating “any Jasper ISD student was involved in, affected by, or connected to the allegations that are the subject of the investigation.”
Anyone with information about the investigation into Peveto is encouraged to contact the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
Peveto was booked into the Jefferson County Jail on June 22. Bond was set at $500,000.
Online records show Peveto worked for four other school districts in the past seven years before Jasper ISD hired him: Hardin-Jefferson ISD, Vidor ISD, Kountze ISD, and Beaumont ISD.
Peveto has held a Texas teaching certificate for physical education since 2003 and for special education since 2005. His current certificate, now under review by the Texas Education Agency, includes a “Recognized” designation—a distinction awarded to “highly effective public school teachers” for which they receive extra pay.
In just the past few years, hundreds of Texas school employees have been accused of sex crimes involving students and other children, and thousands have been reported to the TEA for sexual misconduct.
The TEA’s Educator Misconduct Reporting Dashboard shows that the agency is currently investigating more than 2,400 sexual misconduct complaints and opening an average of 260 new cases each month.
