Francisco Contreras Jr.

Introduction

Francisco Contreras Jr. is a special services teacher at Rio Grande City High School in Texas who was booked into the Starr County jail on October 7, 2026, on charges of improper relationship between an educator and a student and two counts of sexual assault of a child — all second-degree felonies punishable by two to 20 years in prison. According to a criminal complaint obtained by KRGV, Contreras admitted to investigators that he had sex with the student “on more than 10 occasions,” one of them at the school. Bond was set at $150,000, according to a Starr County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson .

Background Information

Contreras had worked in Rio Grande City Grulla ISD for more than a decade, according to online records reported by Texas Scorecard. He held a Texas teaching certificate since 2007, was certified in special education and physical education, and carried a “Master Teacher” designation — described by the outlet as the highest distinction awarded to “highly effective public school teachers.” At the time of his arrest he taught special services at Rio Grande City High School, and he remained listed on the school’s website as recently as the Thursday after his booking .

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Charged, not convicted. Contreras faces allegations from a criminal complaint and the charges filed in Starr County; he has not been tried, and no conviction has been reported. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

According to the complaint, the case broke when a student told a teacher that Contreras was in a romantic sexual relationship with another student, and showed the teacher photos of the pair kissing along with “flirty” text messages between them. Investigators with the Starr County Sheriff’s Office questioned Contreras, who confessed to the relationship, the complaint states. Contreras met the student in February, and the improper relationship ran from April 2026 to October 2026, according to the complaint as reported by KRGV .

The Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division took over the investigation on October 7 — the same day Contreras was booked — citing “a recent ruling regarding school district police departments investigating cases involving students.” Texas Scorecard connected that language to a September 16 opinion by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, which stated that under the state’s 2025 educator misconduct reporting law, a school district’s internal police department is not an “appropriate law enforcement agency” for receiving or investigating child abuse allegations .

Public Reaction and Consequences

The district acted the day of the arrest: Rio Grande City Grulla ISD said an unnamed educator had been placed on suspension over allegations of “serious misconduct involving an educator and a student,” adding that it had reported the matter to law enforcement and state authorities and would cooperate fully. The statement stressed the district could not disclose identifying details, “accordingly,” while affirming that student safety remained its “highest priority” .

The formal consequences so far are the three second-degree felony charges, the $150,000 bond, and the suspension. County jail logs did not list Contreras as an inmate in the days after his booking, and his teaching certificate — including the Master Teacher designation — is under review by the Texas Education Agency, according to Texas Scorecard .

Current Status

As of the most recent coverage in the sources consulted, Contreras had been booked on two counts of sexual assault of a child and one count of improper relationship between an educator and a student, with bond set at $150,000 and the case in the hands of the Starr County courts. He remained listed on the Rio Grande City High School website as a special services teacher in the days after his arrest, while the district’s suspension statement stood and the TEA credential review was pending. No trial date or attorney statement appeared in the fetched coverage .

Impact on Their Career/Life

A dozen-year teaching career capped by the state’s highest teacher distinction now hangs on three second-degree felony charges, with a credential review that could end his certification regardless of the criminal outcome. The case also became a local data point in the structural fight over who investigates educator misconduct in Texas: the Starr County Sheriff’s Office took the case only after the attorney general’s September opinion redirected such probes away from district police departments, a ruling the sheriff’s office cited by name in announcing the arrest. Texas Scorecard placed the arrest against statewide TEA figures — more than 3,000 open educator sexual misconduct complaints and an average of 250 new cases per month — as the district’s students and parents absorbed the complaint’s account of a relationship that allegedly ran from spring into the first week of October .

Sources

KRGV, “Records: Rio Grande City teacher admitted to having sexual relationship with student,” October 15, 2026 — source
Texas Scorecard, “Rio Grande City Teacher Charged With Raping Underage Student,” October 9, 2026 — source
KRGV, “Rio Grande City High School teacher faces sexual assault of a child charges,” October 2026 — source