A grand jury indicted a former Buckholts Independent School District employee who allegedly had an improper sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student.
Zachary Dylan Esparza, 22, of Temple, was indicted on sexual assault of a child, a second-degree felony.
The charge stems from an alleged improper relationship between Esparza and a district student in September 2021 while he was working as a technology specialist.
On April 13, Temple Police Department Detective Michael Terpstra was assigned a follow-up investigation after explicit videos and photos on social media depicting the girl and Esparza were reported to the Buckholts Police Department.
“However, it was determined that the offense took place in Temple, Texas,” Terpstra said in an arrest affidavit.
During an interview at the Child Advocacy Center of Central Texas, the girl said, “Esparza was naked in the pictures and admitted that she took them,” Terpstra said.
Terpstra interviewed the girl to learn more about the relationship.
“She told me that she met Esparza when he worked at Buckholts ISD as an IT person,” he said. “She told me that they began a physical relationship in September 2021 and that it included sexual intercourse at Esparza’s apartment in Temple, at his parents’ house in Temple, and in his vehicle when it was parked in Temple.”
Buckholts ISD employment records for Esparza obtained through an open records request show he met the girl two months after starting work at the district.
An attorney for Buckholts ISD previously said Esparza was hired as a technology specialist on July 15, 2021, and his last day of employment was April 7, 2022.
Investigators contacted Esparza to tell his side of the story, but according to Terpstra, he invoked his right to consult with an attorney and was not interviewed.
He was arrested at his residence on May 23, after Temple police officers executed an arrest warrant.
Esparza was released from the Bell County Jail on May 24 after posting a $100,000 bond.
