Former Houston ISD teacher accused of sexually abusing children set to appear in court; victim's mother speaks
HOUSTON - The former HISD teacher accused of sexually abusing elementary school students is due in court Thursday.
FOX 26 spoke with the mother of one of the young girls involved in this investigation. To protect her child's identity, we aren't showing her face or giving her name, so we'll refer to her as Jane.
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45-year-old Manuel Ponce was a Sutton Elementary School teacher for over five years. Jane says her 7-year-old daughter was in his second grade class.
"I know he groomed them; he groomed her," Jane told FOX 26.
Jane says the rumors started circulating about sexual abuse with her daughter's teacher in October 2022. Ponce had already retired from the school about three months prior.
Once she heard the rumors, Jane pressed her daughter for answers. She says in December 2022, what her daughter confessed, turned their lives upside down.
"Anytime he would go over a paper or a grade, he would sit her in his lap and start rubbing under her shirt, and then he would peek inside her underwear to make sure she was okay," Jane explained.
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Several young girls came forward; some claimed Ponce would lift their shirts, others said he would unzip and look into their pants. Others claimed he would physically touch their private areas.
"She feels embarrassed, like she did something wrong, it's part of the trauma she's going through."
HISD police placed Ponce under arrest on February 10. Police say there are eight victims in total, and all the girls are between the ages of 7-years-old to 8-years-old.
The alleged assaults happened while other students were in line for their bathroom breaks.
Ponce is currently out on bond. He's facing several felony charges, including indecency with a child and continuous sexual abuse of a child.
He is set to appear in court at 8:30 a.m. Thursday morning.