Rangers investigate as woman is placed on paid administrative leave
MARFA — A Marfa ISD educator — Rebecca Ontiveros, 25, of Marfa — was arrested last Thursday and charged with improper relationship between an educator and student, a second-degree felony punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison. Ontiveros was booked into the Presidio County Jail. She was released on a $75,000 bond on Friday.
A source knowledgeable of the investigation — who did not want to be named because they were not directly involved in the case — 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.
The Big Bend Sentinel has put in a public records request with the Texas Rangers for probable cause affidavits on any arrest or search warrants for the case.
Ontiveros was arrested last Thursday 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.”
Interim Superintendent Arturo Alferez told The Sentinel this week that Ontiveros is on paid administrative leave as of the day of her arrest. Alferez said the district is following standard procedure by placing Ontiveros on paid leave and the move was not a decision the school board voted on.
The Marfa ISD School Board extended a non-certified teacher contract to Ontiveros last Monday so that she could teach two pre-kindergarten 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.
Ontiveros’ defense attorney Shane O’Neal said he has not yet received any specifics on the allegations from the state, but the high school student in question is someone Ontiveros knew well but never held a supervisory role over in the context of the school system.
“We’re going to wait to see what the state’s evidence is before we comment on the truth or falsity of these allegations,” O’Neal said. “From our understanding, this involves her relationship with someone who’s been a long-term family friend that she’s known socially for a long time, and that she’s never had an educator-student relationship with.”