Former Decatur ISD athletic trainer arrested for child sex assault
Fernando Escobar
DECATUR, Texas - A former Decatur ISD athletic trainer and golf coach is facing charges for the alleged sexual assault of a child.
What we know:
Fernando Escobar, 42, was arrested last week and charged with the sexual assault of a child.
Police said the alleged crime happened more than 10 years ago when Escobar was an athletic trainer for Decatur ISD.
The victim was a minor at the time.
Dig deeper:
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, the victim was a female student at Decatur High School who suffered an athletic injury.
She was encouraged to see the athletic trainer numerous times a week, and Escobar was the only trainer for the school district at the time.
The victim told police she and Escobar began exchanging text messages. Initially, those messages were about her injury. Then they evolved into more.
The affidavit states Escobar began texting the victim from a new phone number because "his wife found the text messages between himself and Jane Doe #1 on his other phone."
The victim said Escobar eventually convinced her to meet him in an apartment complex parking lot where they had sex in a pickup truck. Those sexual encounters continued on 10 or more occasions until Escobar’s wife caught the two of them in the truck.
Featured
North Texas man, former school bus driver gets 60 years for making child porn
A North Texas man has received a 60-year federal prison sentence for creating illicit images of two children in Fort Worth.
What they're saying:
Decatur ISD confirmed Escobar was employed as a part-time athletic trainer in the district between 2009 and 2020 and a part-time golf coach from 2013 to 2020.
He is no longer an employee, the district said.
What you can do:
Police want to talk to anyone who may have information regarding Escobar.
They believe there could be additional victims or witnesses who have not come forward yet.
Tipsters should call the Decatur Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division at 940-393-0309.
The Source: The information in this story comes from Decatur police, Decatur ISD, and an arrest warrant affidavit.