Federal agents busted a South Texas teacher for downloading and distributing “severe” child sexual abuse material involving very young victims.
Roel Flores Jr. was arrested and charged with receipt and distribution of child pornography.
At the time of his arrest, Flores was a social studies teacher at the South Texas Independent School District’s Virtual Academy, where he has worked since 2023.
The school serves students in grades 6-12 from Cameron, Hidalgo, and Willacy counties.
Flores was identified as part of an online investigation of offenders using BitTorrent to share and receive child sexual abuse material (CSAM) featuring sadomasochistic activity.
According to a criminal complaint, the files included sexually explicit videos of toddlers and prepubescent children.
FBI McAllen identified a location that was downloading the files as belonging to Flores.
On October 8, federal agents executed a search warrant at Flores’ residence in Weslaco, where he was the sole occupant.
The complaint stated that agents discovered various devices and sexual objects, as well as a “Mercedes Independent School District 2006-2007” bag containing sex paraphernalia and a pair of stained child’s underwear.
During the search, agents also found a laptop that was actively downloading “age difficult” CSAM files.
Flores is being held in federal custody without bond.
South Texas ISD Superintendent Marco Antonio Lara, Jr. released a statement on October 9 notifying parents and the community that an unnamed Virtual Academy staff member had been arrested.
“We are working hand in hand with the law enforcement agency to support them as they carry out their investigation,” wrote Lara. “At STISD, all staff members are held to the highest of standards, and we are taking administrative action to ensure the safety of all in our district.”
Flores holds a social studies teaching certificate. He was first certified in 2016.
Online records indicate Flores may have previously taught at other school districts in the area, including Mercedes ISD.
In just the past few years, hundreds of Texas school employees have been accused of sex crimes involving students and other minors—including possession, production, and distribution of child sexual abuse material.
Thousands of educator sexual misconduct complaints have been reported to the Texas Education Agency.
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