HOUSTON – A former Houston ISD employee is behind bars, accused of having sex with a student on several occasions in the classroom.
Jesus Zamora, 25, made his appearance in probable cause court Friday morning, where he is charged with two counts of sexually assaulting a child between the ages of 14 and 17.
HISD officials confirmed to KPRC 2 that Zamora worked at Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy, an all-girls school in Third Ward. He has since been terminated, according to a letter to parents sent by the principal.
“A former non-teaching staff member of HISD who was once assigned to YWPCA was recently charged with a crime. Please rest assured that this individual is no longer working at our campus and has not been assigned to our campus for over a year. Our students are safe and well, and we will continue to do everything in our power to preserve the safety and well-being of our students.”
Court documents identified Zamora as an “advocacy teacher” at the school and revealed he and a student “engaged in sexual intercourse on multiple occasions on campus.” The victim told authorities they grew a “close friendship” and exchanged numbers in March 2023 to play “Game Pigeon” on their phones.
The victim told authorities, court records claim, that Zamora messaged her saying “if he won the game she would ‘owe’ him something.” It was later revealed via court documents Zamora told her that “she owed him a kiss” and after class “forced her to stay and give him a kiss inside of the close located in the back of the classroom.”
Surveillance video uncovered by detectives corroborated the victim’s claims.
SUGGESTED: Justice Department watchdog finds failures in FBI’s handling of child sex abuse cases
Arrest paperwork claims Zamora and the student would have sexual encounters on several occasions in the closet, but also took pictures of her “against her consent.” From there, the victim told investigators they mostly spoke through Snapchat. The victim also told investigators after he “was no longer employed at the school” he’d continue to press her for sex.
The 25-year-old’s bail was set at $150,000 for each charge of sexual assault.
