School teacher arrested after motel check-in with 12 y.o. boy

San Antonio - A San Antonio, Texas school teacher was jailed over the week-end on a charge of aggravated sexual assault after being accused of taking one of her former fifth-grade students to a motel early Saturday and performing a sex act with him.

A teacher at Cable Elementary School in San Antonio’s Northside Independent School District was arrested over the week-end on a charge of aggravated sexual assault on one of her former students, a 12-year-old boy. Lucinda Rodriguez Caldwell, 38, is accused of performing a sexual act on the student at a motel early Saturday. She was expected to be released by early Tuesday on a $75,000 bail. The boy had previously been removed from her classroom over concerns of her behavior toward him, according to a report in the San Antonio Express News. Caldwell resigned on Monday while in jail after the school district served her papers with the option of taking paid administrative leave or resigning, district spokesman Pascual Gonzalez said. According to Gonzalez, the district is reporting the matter to the State Board for Educator Certification. He also confirmed Caldwell had been reprimanded in the past over her behavior toward the young boy. In February, Caldwell’s behavior toward the student was reported by three teachers as being “overly friendly,” Gonzalez said. However, no complaints were issued from the 12-year-old or his father, and nothing showed she was sexually involved with the boy at that time. She was reprimanded and received counseling, according to Gonzalez. “Elementary teachers by nature are very close to their kids, very affectionate; that's just the atmosphere of the elementary school,” Gonzalez said. “But there is a line of friendliness you do not cross, and in the opinion of these staff members she crossed the line.” A week or so later, Caldwell gave the boy a private tutoring lesson in the classroom, after school hours, that was not approved by administration, as required. Upon learning of the tutoring session, the school principal removed the student from Caldwell’s classroom on March 5. Gonzalez said the boy and father still had not expressed any concerns over the teacher’s behavior. That's the last of any kind of incidents that the school was aware of,” Gonzalez said. It is unknown at this time how much contact the teacher had with the boy after that. According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Caldwell was arrested after the boy’s father awoke to find his son missing. When venturing outside, he saw the teacher driving up to the house. When he approached her car, Caldwell drove off. He followed her to Hondo, a small town approximately 40 miles west of San Antonio, where she was pulled over and arrested. The boy then told police Caldwell had taken him to a motel. Police have confirmed she checked into a motel at 1:15 a.m. Saturday. There had been no previous complaints about Caldwell, who has worked at school districts in Eagle Pass and El Paso. “As professional educators, we are extremely distressed that a teacher would take advantage of a child,” Gonzalez said. “Because the vast majority of teachers are honorable and they do their very best to help their students succeed.”