Palm Beach Lakes High School “Paraprofessional” Accused Of Inappropriate Contact With Student, Arrested
Simon Estrada From Lantana Charged With Multiple Felonies After Accusations Of Sexual Misconduct With Student, Bond Set At $110,000
LANTANA, FL – Boca Post (BocaPost.com) — Simon Estrada, a paraprofessional at Palm Beach Lakes High School, has been arrested on several felonies involving sex crimes against minor children.
Simon Antonio Estrada-Mancia, 30, of the 1100 block of Peak Road in Lantana, was arrested Friday evening by the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office. Boca Post has been notified that the charges filed include “LEWD LASCV BEHAVIOR – LEWD OR LASCIVIOUS BATTERY VICTIM AGE 12 TO 16”, “OBSCENE MATERIAL-DISTRIB – TRANSMIT INFO HARMFUL TO MINORS”, and “OBSCENE COMMUNICATION – USE COMPUTER TO SEDUCE SOLICIT LURE CHILD”.
According to the arrest affidavit, Estrada engaged in sexual activity with a 15-year-old volunteer. Estrada was identified as a counselor who the 15-year-old befriended because he was known to buy food for the volunteers who did not like eating the food being served.
The 15-year-old victim gave Estrada her cell phone number and said that the two exchanged sexual text massages. Investigators say that Estrada sent the 15-year-old pictures of his genitals and expressed to the girl that he wanted to do sexual things to her.
In July, Estrada picked her up from her community and committed sexual acts with each other in his vehicle. When he asked to have sexual intercourse, she said no. Investigators reviewed text messages between the two where Estrada refers to himself as the 15-year-old girl’s boyfriend.
When investigators spoke to Estrada, he said he knows the girl but he thought she was 18 years old. When asked if they exchanged numbers, he demanded to speak to a lawyer and ended the interview. Estrada was then arrested.
David Alfonso, principal of Palm Beach Lakes High School, sent an e-mail blast to parents about the incident this morning saying:
“Palm Beach Lakes parents, guardians, and staff:
I’m reaching out to notify you about the arrest of a member of our school staff.
After school yesterday, Sheriff’s deputies detained and arrested paraprofessional Simon Estrada on charges related to inappropriate contact with a minor over the summer at a non-District location. According to the Sheriff’s Office, Mr. Estrada is charged with Lewd or Lascivious Battery and also faces other charges.
I want to assure our families and staff that our school and the District take all allegations of misconduct very seriously. Mr. Estrada will also face an extensive administrative investigation at the District. He will not return to Palm Beach Lakes Community High School.
At this time, we have no indication of other potential victims. However, this remains an active investigation. If you, or your child, have any additional information you are asked to call the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office which is the lead investigating agency.
The contact at PBSO is: Detective M. Holguin at (561)687-6832
Because this is an active and open investigation, I am limited in what I can share at his point, however, I am here if you would like to reach out with any concerns regarding your student”
Estrada was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail at 6:22 on Friday evening. Estrada saw a judge on Saturday morning who set his bond at $110,000 while he faces the following charges:
- 800.04(4A1) LEWD OR LASCIVIOUS BATTERY
- 5 counts of 847.0138(2) TRANSMISSION OF MATERIAL HARMFUL TO MINOR
- 847.0135(3A) SOLICITING A CHILD FOR UNLAWFUL SEXUAL CONDUCT
The judge ordered that he has no contact with the victim or with anyone under the age of 18. Further, Estrada is ordered not to maintain any type of supervisory role at locations with children. Estrada was also ordered to have no access to the internet.
Court documents indicate that Estrada will be entering PBSO’s In House Arrest program as he awaits trial.
Boca Post recently reported on another paraprofessional with the Palm Beach County School District who was accused of molesting a disabled student from Olympic Heights High School in June. In that case, the Palm Beach County School District relocated the “paraprofessional” to different locations after the allegations were made. The suspect, in that case, was eventually terminated when he didn’t show up to work at his most recent assignment, not for the crimes he was accused of, or for the drug arrests prior to that.