(TExas Scorecard) – A now-former employee of an all-girls school in Houston Independent School District is accused of sexually assaulting an underage student multiple times in his office and classroom closet, after connecting with her via a gaming app.
Jesus Zamora, 25, worked at Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy, a top-ranked school for girls in 6th–12th grade located in Houston’s Third Ward that was certified as “family-friendly” in 2023 when the alleged sexual assaults began.
Houston ISD officials called Zamora a “non-teaching staff member.” Court documents refer to him as an “advocacy teacher.”
Zamora was arrested last week and charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child between the ages of 14 and 17 years—a second-degree felony punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison.
The girl told authorities Zamora began interacting with her in March 2023, when she was 15, using the online app GamePigeon.
Zamora allegedly told the girl she “owed” him when he won the game and forced her to kiss him in a classroom closet as a reward.
According to a report by Fox 26 Houston, the girl accused Zamora of asking her to have sexual intercourse with him in April 2023.
She told authorities Zamora had sex with her in the classroom closet every other week and in his office twice a week. School security footage allegedly showed the two entering the closet.
Court documents also allege Zamora took pictures of the girl without her consent and sent her explicit photos of himself using the social media app Snapchat.
Zamora was booked into Harris County Jail on August 29 and is being held on a $300,000 bond—$150,000 for each charge.
Academy officials sent a statement to parents:
A former non-teaching staff member of HISD who was once assigned to YWPCA was recently charged with a crime. Please rest assured that this individual is no longer working at our campus and has not been assigned to our campus for over a year. Our students are safe and well, and we will continue to do everything in our power to preserve the safety and well-being of our students.
Zamora is among dozens of Texas school teachers and staff accused of sex crimes involving students.
