Former IDEA Public Schools teacher had sexual relationship with 8th grader, court documents reveal

Update: According to court documents newly obtained by ABC-7, the student was 14 and in the 8th grade. Patterson teaches biology at the IDEA Public Schools Rio Vista campus.

Investigators say the pair considered themselves a couple and that Patterson professed his love to the unnamed minor.

The court documents detail one sexual encounter between the pair. Patterson allegedly picked up the minor and took her to a community center parking lot to have penetrative sexual relations in his car. Investigators say that, according to messages recovered from the student's phone, this happened two separate times.

The student's mother walked into a Socorro Police Department station in May to report the encounter after she saw messages on her child's phone. That's according to police documents.

IDEA Public Schools sent the following statement to ABC-7 in response to our reporting:

"At IDEA Public Schools, our top priority is the safety and security of our students. IDEA is aware of the arrest of a previous employee today. We are taking appropriate actions in accordance with the law and network policy. The individual was under an internal investigation and had not been on campus since May. They are no longer employed with IDEA. As this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further. All questions should be directed to local law enforcement."

IDEA Public Schools

SOCORRO, Texas (KVIA) -- Socorro Police Department officers arrested an educator who works at an IDEA Public Schools campus for allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with a child.

They charged William Patterson with having an improper relationship between an educator and a student.

The department confirms that it got a tip on May 31, 2023 about a "dating relationship" between Patterson and an underage female student. That relationship allegedly led to a sexual encounter, according to police.

Patterson surrendered to police on September 5, 2023. They booked him into the El Paso County Jail on a $100,000 bond.

ABC-7 is working to find out which campus Patterson worked at and what job he had, and whether he is still working at the school. We will update you when we learn more.