A former St. Thomas More coach has been indicted again, records show.
A federal grand jury handed up a superseding indictment against Jacob De La Paz this week; he originally was indicted on a charge of attempted production of child pornography, and now he's facing a charge of attempted receipt of child pornography.
If convicted on the production charge, he faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison, with a maximum of 30 years. If convicted on the receipt charge, he faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison.
De La Paz was fired from STM back in April 2023 after a video was circulated online, apparently showing Delapaz saying sexually explicit things to someone he tutors. As KATC investigates reported, Delapaz had previously been disciplined in Arkansas for inappropriate text messages to a student.
Despite that, he was hired in Vermilion Parish, and later by St. Thomas More High School. He's been sitting in jail since he was indicted on the first charge in May 2023.
To read more about the De Le Paz case, click here and here. So far, several dates for his trial have been set and reset, as prosecutors and his attorneys file various motions and deal with evidentiary issues.
Just months after De La Paz was indicted, another STM coach was arrested, and indicted, on similar charges and he has entered a guilty plea.
Angel Cardona, 35, pleaded guilty last month to one count of the indictment against him; in exchange, the government agreed to dismiss the other two charges after he is sentenced. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. His sentencing is set for April.
The indictment accused Cardona of attempting to create child pornography on July 11 and July 13 of last year, and of using a facility between June 6 and June 24 to entice a child to engage in criminal sexual activity.
In court, he admitted to the enticement charge, admitting that he reached out to a person he thought was a 13-year-old girl in early June 2023. The person, to whom he was speaking online, said they were going to summer school and Cardona said he "thought I could help them." He continued talking to the person - who actually was an FBI agent - for about five weeks.
Then he asked for pictures of her, and agreed to meet her in person; they made a date to meet at Veteran's Park in Lafayette on July 24. Cardona told the judge that he asked for sexually explicit photos of the child. He used the Whisper and Kik apps, records show.
To read about his guilty plea, click here.
