Probation officer charged with sexual misconduct

A probation officer at a Cameron County juvenile detention center is accused of having sexual relations with a teenager detained there, Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio said.

Patricia Maria Aguilar, 33, was arrested Friday and charged with improper sexual activity with a person in custody.

Aguilar was an officer at Amador R. Rodriguez Juvenile Boot Camp school in San Benito. Tommy Ramirez Jr., chief executive officer of the detention center, said she is no longer an employee.

Lucio said a 17-year-old student at the center told administrators late in January that Aguilar performed oral sex on him at the detention center after a basketball game.

“This occurred while he was an inmate there,” Lucio said.

Afterward, Aguilar gave him her cell phone number, the teenager told authorities and administrators. When he was released, the teenager reported, the two met at the Wal-Mart in San Benito and had sexual intercourse in the woman’s truck, Lucio said.

The teenager reported the relations to officials at the center, who called the sheriff’s office.

Deputies arrested Aguilar, who admitted to the incidents, Lucio said.

“She provided a voluntary statement of what had transpired,” he said.

Ramirez said employees go through a tough vetting process, which includes a national background check and fingerprinting, before they are hired. The state prohibits hiring anyone who has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor crime, he said.

“This is absolutely a shock,” Ramirez said. “It’s most definitely an isolated incident.”

A judge set Aguilar’s bond at $15,000. Jail records show she has posted bail.

Mbuckley@brownsvilleherald.com