Prosecutor: Irvin High Dance Teacher Made Child Porn In His Home, May Have Up To 70 Victims

The Irvin High School teacher arrested last week and accused of having child pornography on his computer is now accused of a whole lot more.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents now say Marco Alferez, 34, was making child pornography in his own home and claim there may be as many as 70 local victims. View photos of Alferez .

The revelations came in a bond hearing Wednesday afternoon in a federal courtroom in Downtown El Paso. During the bond hearing, two ICE agents took the stand and one of them testified that Alferez is now accused of having sex with a child and secretly videotaping it.

In one of those videos, agents say, Alferez is seen setting up a camera in his own bedroom, covering it up, later bringing an underage girl into the room and then having sex with her. Prosecutors have charged the teacher with sexual performance of a child.

The agent said Alferez made homemade videos depicting 65 to 70 children, all of whom are believed to be from the El Paso area.

Alferez sat in the federal courtroom in Downtown El Paso and heard a prosecutor say he possessed 140 homemade videos depicting elementary-age children showing their genitalia or engaging in sexual acts.

In addition to computer evidence, authorities confiscated 12 VHS tapes and 107 8mm tapes in Alferez’s home. The prosecutor did not say how much, if any, of those those tapes contained child porn.

ICE agents said Alferez admitted to the accusations.

The agent who interviewed Alferes the day his home was searched testified that Alferez told them he was “relieved to have been caught,” telling the agents he himself had been sexually assaulted as a child.

Alferez’s family members cried in disbelief as agents detailed the allegations against him during the hearing. His aunt, Maria Teresa Garcia, told ABC-7 it is the first time she heard of the alleged abuse he suffered and she said she will continue to support him.

“We’re there for him, to back him up 100 percent,” said Garcia.

Alferez was denied bond at the hearing.

A search warrant was issued for Alferez after a month-long investigation dubbed “Operation Predator.”

Alferez is currently on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the case.

Parents, whose children were Alferez’s students, told ABC-7 they received a letter from Irvin High School’s principal on Wednesday. In it, the district alerted parents that their children may be contacted by law enforcement officials for an interview about this investigation. Those interviews will take place Thursday or Friday.

The El Paso Independent School District released the following statement on Wednesday:

“The District is taking these allegations very seriously. The well-being and safety of our students is our top priority and we are fully cooperating with law enforcement on the investigation.

The District routinely performs national criminal background checks, including fingerprinting, and reference checks on all of our teaching applicants before putting teachers under contract. This procedure was followed prior to hiring Marco Alferez and no criminal record or arrests were found.

Since this is an ongoing criminal investigation, questions must be directed to law enforcement.”