Jacob De La Paz found guilty of one child porn charge, mistrial on other
LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) – Former teacher Jacob De La Paz was found guilty today on one of the child pornography charges he faced, but not the other.
De La Paz was convicted of attempted receipt of child pornography in connection with an incident on or about Jan. 12, 2023. He was also charged with attempted production of child pornography, but a mistrial was declared on that count. It is unclear whether he will be retried.
Jurors heard testimony and evidence about the relationship between De La Paz, a teacher at St. Thomas More Catholic High School in Lafayette, and the victim, whom he was supposed to be tutoring in math. Several witnesses took the stand, including the victim’s boyfriend, those involved with the investigation and De La Paz himself.
De La Paz was previously employed at a school in Arkansas, where he was found to have “engaged in inappropriate communication with a student via text messaging” in 2017, and at North Vermilion High School.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.