(Texas Scorecard) – A former Waco charter school teacher has been arrested and charged for an improper relationship between an educator and student.
Octavio Sanchez, 53, has a documented history of sexually harassing women and was previously arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a child. After his first arrest, a former student came forward and told detectives Sanchez inappropriately touched her and touched himself in a sexual manner in front of her.
According to the arrest warrant, the student said Sanchez would often tell her she had a beautiful body and that “she could get any guy she wanted.” The student also alleged that he would hug her in the school’s hallway and that his arm would wrap around her body with his hand touching the side of her breast.
In one incident involving the student, she explained that she was told to close the classroom door, and he then looked her in the eyes and proceeded to touch himself in a sexual manner over his clothing.
Detectives also received similar allegations from other informants during their investigation. Several witnesses said Sanchez would often flirt with female students, tell them they were “pretty,” and touch their legs and arms.
Sanchez previously worked for Premier High School in Waco—a public charter school not affiliated with Waco Independent School District.
He had been arrested previously on October 2 on a charge of continuous sexual assault of a child—a first-degree felony with a punishment of 25 years to 99 years or life in prison without the possibility for parole.
In early April, a detective with the Waco Police Department received a referral from Child Protective Services about a woman who claimed she was sexually abused by Sanchez multiple times as a child.
Detectives interviewed her and she described two instances of sexual abuse.
The victim said in the first instance she was six or seven years old and woke up to Sanchez in her bed inappropriately touching her.
In the second instance, the victim says she was nine or 10 years old and woke up to find Sanchez pulling her underwear down and sexually assaulting her.
She also told detectives that Sanchez refused to allow family members to lock the bathroom door and would watch her shower.
After speaking with multiple family members, former coworkers, and members of Sanchez’ church, the detective was informed of multiple instances of Sanchez sexually harassing women throughout his life.
One of Sanchez’ employers told detectives that he was terminated due to misconduct in 2017. The employer described the misconduct as related to harassment against women.
Records obtained from another employer showed his employment was terminated due to substantiated harassment claims in 2018.
A third employer said Sanchez was seen dancing, hugging, and touching the legs of female high school students from 2021 until 2023. The employer began an investigation into Sanchez and he resigned in April 2023 before the investigation could be completed.
According to the affidavit, the detective found documentation showing Sanchez had not listed the real reasons why he left his previous job, leading the detective to believe he lied about his history to cover up his terminations for harassment and misconduct.
Sanchez was arrested and rebooked into the McLennan County Jail on Tuesday for the most recent charge and is currently in custody on a $20,000 cash bond.
Texas Scorecard contacted Premier High School about Sanchez’ tenure at the school but did not receive a response by publication.
Dozens of Texas teachers have been charged with sex crimes involving students in recent years.
