SAN ANTONIO – In the last month, KSAT has reported four cases where educators have been accused of having inappropriate relationships with students.
Here’s a list of those cases KSAT has reported in the last month:
- A former assistant football coach at Veterans High School was arrested for allegedly luring students to send explicit images and messages in exchange for gifts.
- On Thursday, April 17, Christopher Irving, 41, was charged with two counts of child grooming, a third-degree felony, and sexual performance, a second-degree felony,
- Irving bonded out of the Bexar County Adult Detention Center Friday afternoon.
Jubilee San Antonio Charter School
- A former third-grade teacher at the Jubilee San Antonio charter school was arrested and accused of having an improper relationship with a 17-year-old student.
- Caleb Nelson, 23, was charged with sexual assault and improper relationship between an educator and student.
- A former McCollum High School revealed to KSAT what she calls a years-long sexual relationship with now-former basketball coach Marcus Alvarado.
- Alvarado was not charged with a crime but resigned from Harlandale Independent School District on March 7, 2025.
- The San Antonio Independent School District confirmed a former teacher allegedly had a relationship with a former student, according to the district.
- Matthew Almaraz was not charged with a crime but no longer works at the district.
These four accusations range in levels of alleged abuse, but the theme begs the same question: What can parents and guardians do to educate children?
A San Antonio child sex assault and trafficking survivor said she knows the answer.
“My trafficker is in prison,” Karla Solomon told KSAT. “I have so much freedom and victory.”
Solomon said it began like many instances of child sexual abuse: by gaining the victim’s trust.
“Grooming is when a predator is basically seeking out a victim to prey upon in many different ways. They make the child feel seen. They feel loved,” Solomon said. “They will eventually use different things like bribery or exploit their vulnerabilities.”
Solomon has turned her past into power. She now has her own consulting company that educates people at all levels.
She said she trains special agents at the Texas Department of Public Safety every three months. Solomon added she helps with sting operations in Bexar County and the surrounding counties.
Solomon is part of the Human Trafficking Survivor Leader Council for Texas, is a consultant for Homeland Security, helps sex trafficking survivors into recovery, does training for schools, churches, and businesses, and just wrote a book that will soon be published.
When she teaches adults about child sexual assault or trafficking, Solomon said it’s common for them to believe it doesn’t happen where they live or wouldn’t happen to their kids.
She said she begs parents and guardians to believe her as she has seen and lived it.
While so much of the grooming is done online, it can be done in person by individuals children trust.
“I have done work all over San Antonio and the surrounding hill country area. It’s everywhere,” Solomon said. “What these predators do is they gain access wherever they can, whether that be at school, (sic) church.”
The past month of accusations against educators can be an example of why tough conversations at home are necessary.
Solomon said the subject doesn’t have to be a scary one, but instead an empowering one.
“We can build kids that can look out for their peers and speak up and be that person who says, ‘Hey, that’s not right,’” she said.
That home-level education needs to be long-term.
“I don’t want to say have just one conversation with your kids about what’s appropriate and what’s not appropriate. This is an ongoing thing,” she said. “My 6th grader is going through something totally different than my fixing-to-be 9th grader.”
That way, if something feels off, kids will come forward before abuse happens.
Parents can also look for signs that a child is being groomed either in person or online:
- Developing an unusually close connection with an older person
- Having gifts or money that they cannot explain
- Being secretive about their phone, internet or social media use
- Changes in mood or behavior
- Withdrawing from friends and family
- Changing social groups
- Appearing extremely tired, including at school
- Lying about whereabouts or activities
- Fear of being touched
- Changes in hygiene
- Aggressive or destructive behavior
- Including sexual themes in artwork or stories
There are several educational resources for parents, including:
- The Child Rescue Coalition’s guide to the “seven P’s” to recognize the signs of grooming.
- Shared Hope International’s guide to signs of child grooming trafficking
- Empowered Homes’ guide to “Seven Questions to Get Your Kid Talking”
- Ransomed Life’s guide includes steps to take if your child has been groomed.
Many organizations will also present at schools, churches or businesses, including Solomon herself, the nonprofit organization Ransomed Life, or the Crime Stoppers Million for Million campaign.
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