A San Antonio music teacher has been charged in connection with a sexual relationship police say he had with a 13-year-old girl.
According to police, Ricardo Martinez, 30, engaged in a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl, while he was her former music instructor at the School of Rock in Stone Oak.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Martinez offered vocal lessons to the teen for about eight months from October 2012 until June 2013.
The girl's mother, who wanted to conceal her identity, said she discovered in July that her daughter and Martinez were communicating by text messages, and filed a police report.
She said it wasn't until earlier this month that she found out the entire story -- that, according to police, the two had been engaging in a sexual relationship.
"I don't understand how an adult can lead a child in this direction. I don't understand it," said the woman. "I'm absolutely horrified that this could happen."
The mother said she realizes now that Martinez had been "grooming" her daughter all along in order to take advantage of her.
"(He was) telling her that she's bigger than life and, you know, making him be her hero. He was going be the one to make her big in the music business," she said.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, the teen admitted that she began sneaking out of her home in the middle of the night to spend time with Martinez.
She told police they began engaging in sex acts last November and continued until February, sometimes at the Helotes home of Martinez's family without his parents' knowledge, the affidavit stated.
Based on the affidavit, nothing illegal actually happened at the school.
Andrew Patton currently owns the school, along with his wife, Michelle Patton. He said he bought the business only two months ago -- long after police believe all of this began.
Andrew Patton said detectives have asked him not to talk about the case.
His wife, though, released a written statement:
"We were alerted that one of our former instructors at the San Antonio school was arrested today. We were unaware of the matter that occurred between the former instructor and former student until this recent notification. Our hiring and employment practices are in full compliance with all laws and we take the safety of our students very seriously, as it is our foremost concern. We are cooperating with the authorities to assist in any way possible with the investigation."
Andrew Patton added that they fired Martinez two days after they took over the school.
The affidavit stated that firing came due to claims that Martinez had taken part in "inappropriate behavior" with another girl, a 15-year-old.
San Antonio police said no charges have been filed in connection with that alleged incident because no victim has come forward yet.
According to Martinez's online biography, he is a renowned musician, songwriter, composer and producer who has recorded and performed with well-known artists.
The biography stated that, among other things, he worked on Tejano artist Sunny Sauceda's Latin Grammy-nominated album, Camaleon.
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