STM Fires Another Teacher and Assistant Coach After Arrest Made by Federal Agents

Lafayette's St. Thomas More High School is once again grappling with a legal matter concerning one of its teachers, as stated in a letter sent to parents signed by Martin Cannon, the school principal, and the Rev. Michael Russo, the chancellor, and reported by KLFY News 10.

The school administration was notified by federal agents on Monday afternoon that an individual who was slated to start teaching at St. Thomas More for the upcoming school year has been arrested. The letter emphasized that due to legal constraints, they could not disclose specific details about the incident. However, it reassured parents that the school adhered to stringent hiring protocols and conducted thorough background checks and research into the applicant's history during the hiring process.

Although the letter did not identify the individual involved, KLFY has learned that the teacher in question is Angel Cordona, currently incarcerated at the Iberia Parish Jail. As of now, no charges have been publicly disclosed.

According to the same letter addressed to parents, the unnamed applicant had successfully passed all mandatory background checks and received positive reviews from former school administrators and coaches.

The school emphasized that since the hiring occurred after the last day of school, there had been no academic instructional time with students. Additionally, any assistant coaching responsibilities undertaken during the summer were always directly observed and supervised by the STM coaching staff, with no reports of complaints, concerns, or incidents.

This recent arrest follows another incident involving a former STM teacher and coach, Jacob de la Paz, who faced federal charges of child pornography and sexual assault of a student in April. De la Paz was indicted by a federal grand jury for attempted production of child pornography on May 17, related to an incident that occurred around January 12.

In light of the circumstances, the letter stated that the individual involved is no longer eligible for employment with STM. The school expressed gratitude to law enforcement for their service and vigilance and reiterated its unwavering commitment to ensuring the safety of the entire STM community. They emphasized that their standards for those involved in the formation of their students remain uncompromising.

See the full story here via KLFY News 10.