SAN ANTONIO — A teacher who worked at O'Connor High School for 12 years has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to a sex crime involving a 12-year-old victim, according to court documents.
A guilty plea signed by David Vetters states that he used the Internet to discuss, plan and facilitate the sexual assault of a child who was being abused by another man, Adrian Warren. It happened in 2017.
The document further states that after Vetters and Warren used their phones to plan and negotiate, Warren brought the victim to Vetters' San Antonio apartment, where the victim says Vetters forced him to perform a sex act.
Vetters pleaded guilty to Aiding and Abetting Coercion and Enticement, which carries a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison. He was sentenced to 130 months.
Northside ISD said Vetters was a teacher for the district from August 16, 2010, until September 15, 2022. A spokesperson for the district told KENS 5 Vetters was "placed on administrative leave immediately" when NISD was notified of the investigation and Vetters' subsequent arrest. Vetters reportedly resigned a few days later.
"I will share that the investigating agency in this matter was the FBI," the district official said. "At no time was the district made aware by the investigating agency of the involvement of any NISD students nor was any of the incident on NISD property."
NISD parents shared their frustration with KENS 5
“David Vetters has been at the school for over a decade, so he has worked with a lot of students,” said Juanita Ortega. “He taught AP English and a movie class before that. I should mention all the students that I talked to liked him and never felt uncomfortable around him. That’s one of the greatest threats; when students trust somebody, when students like somebody and feel they are ‘approachable.’ That could have been a very dangerous situation.
"The information (NISD) had they could have shared with us so we could have conversations with our kids. They didn’t.”
Asked why they didn't open their own investigation into Vetters, NISD officials doubled down, saying, "The FBI was in communication with the district, and we cooperated fully with their investigation. There were no allegations related for NISD for us to investigate."
The FBI shared more information on what led to Warren's arrest in August of 2022.
They said Warren reached out to an undercover FBI-controlled account on the dating app Grindr in May 2021.
They said Warren expressed that he had been engaging in sexual contact with a minor for several years, beginning when the victim was only 7 years old. The undercover account replied with a fictional story that he had been doing the same with his 8-year-old nephew.
According to authorities, Warren said that he was interested in meeting up to engage in sexual activity and watch child pornography. They said Warren added that he would be interested in bringing the child he was sexually assaulting after meeting the undercover account a few times.
Warren reportedly sent the undercover account two photos showing "an adult male’s hand grabbing the buttocks of a nude juvenile male."
The FBI said that the undercover agent later invited Warren to a hotel room to sexually abuse the fictional nephew. When Warren arrived, he was met by FBI agents.
Authorities said Warren lives in San Antonio with his wife and children, and a Child Protective Services investigator interviewed Warren. They said he admitted having sexual contact with a child and sending the photos to the FBI, and also admitted to keeping child pornography on his cellphone and on the computer in his house.
The child victim was interviewed at ChildSafe, and he said Warren sexually assaulted him multiple times starting when he was in the third grade.
Authorities said the victim also reported that Warren used a webcam to stream nude video of the boy to another man he could see on a computer monitor.
It wasn't immediately clear if the child victim referenced in the criminal complaint against Warren is the same victim who accused Vetters of sexual assault.
'They have no idea what's happening'
Kimberly Jones, an NISD parent who is running for a school board spot in May, said she was also unaware of the allegations.
“A concerned parent reached out to me on my campaign page,” said Jones. “She showed me a screenshot that her child had showed her regarding this teacher. She asked if I heard about it. I had to search on Google and look it up. I didn’t see any articles and I had assumed NISD would have published some statement about it, considering what the allegations were.”
Just weeks into the school year, students tell us, Vetters stopped showing up to work.
“They have no idea what’s happening,” said Ortega. “They are asking other teachers or reaching out to each other.”
Ortega says students uncovered the court documents online and began circulating them on social media.
Jones believes NISD mishandled the situation.
“(The district) puts so much emphasis on, ‘When you see something, say something,’” she said. “They are not reciprocating that same transparency. I really feel the parents, at the very minimum, should have been offered an opportunity to discuss what went on with their children to make sure there weren’t any other victims.”
“Them saying an NISD student wasn’t affected, that’s just not an accurate assessment,” Ortega added. “He admitted to doing something very inappropriate to a child. He stated that he had pictures of his students’ genital areas on his phone. Why would NISD think that’s not something that should be shared with us? How do you even know a student hasn't been impacted?”
Jones and Ortega are calling on NISD to send out mass communication about the incident. The two mothers would also like the school to designate a staff member for students and parents to talk to.
Jones encourages parents to voice their concerns to the school board at Tuesday's meeting.
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