HOUSTON – A Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District employee has been accused of improperly touching one of his students multiple times while at school.
Ennis Hernandez, 66, was charged with two counts of improper relationship between educator and students, and one count of sexual performance by a child. His bond was set at $200,000.
According to court documents, Hernandez, who is a Life Skills in-class support paraprofessional at Cypress Falls High School, inappropriately touched one of his 17-year-old students multiple times throughout the school year.
The student, who is now 18 years old, notified the CFISD human resource director on Feb. 27. She said Hernandez would touch her over her clothes while they were in the classroom, and he also asked her to touch him “down there.”
Court documents state Hernandez also showed the teen a picture of himself without clothes on, then showed her another picture of himself holding a cat, while partially naked. He allegedly showed the teen a total of four inappropriate pictures.
On March 2, Adult Protective Services interviewed the student and asked her if she understood what an inappropriate touch was and to point it out on her body, which she did. The teen also said Hernandez would touch her multiple times during her fourth-period class. She explained that the incidents happened sometimes in the cafeteria and other times in the classroom. She also said when she asked to go to the bathroom, Hernandez would ask if he could come in and “clean” her.
Documents detail that the inappropriate touching started on Sept. 1, 2022 and went on through February of the following year.
The teen told authorities that Hernandez would ask her for inappropriate pictures and told her to not tell her mother.
When officers spoke with Hernandez, he allegedly claimed his job requires him to “touch” his students sometimes, and in the case of the victim, he had to touch her to calm her down because sometimes she “jumps up and down.”
Hernandez allegedly said, “If he did touch her, he did not mean to, but it was only to make sure she was OK.”
Hernandez agreed to a forensic search of his cellphone, which disclosed several images of him either naked or showing his body parts. Investigators also found pictures of other Life Skills students, which were taken at the school, including a picture of the victim.
Investigators also said they found the picture of him with the cat, which the victim described seeing on his phone.
Cy-Fair ISD released the following statement regarding the incident:
“Mr. Ennis Hernandez was hired on Jan. 3, 2007 as a paraprofessional at Cypress Falls High School. Mr. Hernandez was placed on administrative leave on Feb. 27, 2023, pending a complete investigation by campus administration and law enforcement, after Cypress Falls High School administration was made aware of allegations of an improper relationship with a student. Mr. Hernandez submitted his resignation effective March 28, 2023.”