This is a developing story and will be updated.
MARFA — A Marfa High School educator — Rebecca Ontiveros, 25, of Marfa — was arrested Thursday and charged with improper relationship between an educator and student, a second-degree felony. Ontiveros was booked into the Presidio County Jail. As of Friday afternoon it was not clear whether she had been released on a $75,000 bond.
A source knowledgeable of the investigation said Ontiveros had developed a relationship with a high school student. That source said that the district received an anonymous complaint about the relationship that included the initials of the alleged offender, which only matched Ontiveros. Subsequently, the Texas Rangers conducted interviews with the victim and Ontiveros to get enough information for the arrest, the source said, although they did not know what details were given and who gave what information.
Ontiveros was arrested yesterday at Marfa ISD at 1 p.m., according to a Presidio County Sheriff’s Department report. The source with knowledge of the investigation said that the Texas Rangers also impounded her car at the school and sealed it to preserve evidence — something that many people around the school witnessed. The Texas Ranger in charge of the investigation, Malcolm White, declined to comment on the open investigation.
The district sent out an official statement to parents on Thursday night at 8:21 p.m. stating that a Marfa ISD employee was taken into custody earlier that day as part of an ongoing investigation conducted by law enforcement officials.
“Marfa ISD is fully cooperating with law enforcement authorities and will continue to provide any necessary assistance throughout the investigation,” the statement read. “The safety and well-being of our students remain the district’s highest priority. As this is an active investigation, the district will not be providing additional comments at this time.”
The Marfa ISD school board extended a non-certified teacher contract to Ontiveros on Monday so that she could teach two pre-kindgarten classes. Before that she served as a special education aide at the elementary school. Her mother is Teresa Nuñez, the Marfa ISD School Board president. Interim Superintendent Arturo Alferez did not immediately return a request for comment.
