HEBISD teacher arrested, accused of fondling elementary students

Police records describe detailed claims from elementary school students who say their teacher molested them.

Angel Omar Sales, 25, was a third grade teacher at Bellaire Elementary School in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford school district.

He was arrested and charged with two counts of indecency with a child, but the arrest warrant affidavit suggests he fondled more than five female students at his school.

Police said different students made similar claims – that Sales would touch them in his class over their clothes while other students were present.

One student claims the fondling occurred throughout the last school year, the affidavit states.

Sales allegedly tried to be discreet, but students in the class saw what was going on and told their parents, police said.

“I don't know if they actually saw the full brunt of it all, but they were aware that something odd or out of the ordinary was occurring,” said Assistant Chief Richard Winstanley with the Hurst Police Department.

Parents told the school in May and then Child Protective Services and police got involved.

The HEB school district said Sales was placed on administrative leave immediately after the allegations surfaced and a letter was sent home to parents on May 22.

Witnesses were interviewed through mid-July and Sales was arrested last week at DFW Airport as he returned to the United States from El Salvador.

He was terminated by the district following his arrest.

HEBISD said it did run Sales' background through an FBI database, county databases and checked his references.

"Questions have been asked related to the district screening process. The district goes beyond the state requirement in screening applicants,” the district said in a statement.

Sales is currently free on bond.

No one answered the door at his last known address in North Richland Hills when FOX 4 knocked on Tuesday.

During an interview with police shortly after the allegations surfaced he denied doing anything inappropriate.

He suggested the claims were retaliation because he didn’t let his students watch a movie in class, according to the affidavit.

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