HOUSTON – A former Rice University instructor is accused of molesting an underage girl during her piano lesson earlier this year, according to court documents.
According to the documents, the mother’s girl told police that she took her daughter to the home of Dariusz Pawlas, 50, in May for a piano lesson. During the lesson, the mother stepped outside to make a phone call. When the lesson was over, the girl came outside and was crying. She told her mother that she wanted a new teacher. When the mother asked why, she said that her teacher had been touching her and he put his hand inside her pants.
The girl told investigators that Pawlas had also touched her buttocks and her leg during her lesson, according to court documents.
Pawlas was interviewed by police after he returned from an overseas trip during the summer, according to the documents. He originally denied touching the girl, but later admitted to touching her privates.
According to the documents, Pawlas said he taught about 40 students at his home because he is legally blind.
Investigators determined that Pawlas' students ranged from first-graders to 12th-graders, but he said he didn’t touch any of his other students, according to the documents.
Pawlas was charged with indecency with a child.
A spokesman for Rice University said Pawlas is no longer employed by the school.