A former State College Area High School Spanish teacher was arrested Thursday on charges that he indecently assaulted a 15-year-old student.
Cesar J. Caceres Tello, 43, of State College, is accused of inappropriately touching and making sexual remarks to the girl while they were alone in a classroom on Dec. 19, 2022.
A police investigation was initiated and Caceres Tello was placed on leave that day, immediately after administrators learned of the incident, a school district spokesperson said. Caceres Tello resigned three days later.
During an interview at the Centre County Children’s Advocacy Center, the girl said that after class was dismissed for lunch she was the only student in the room as she remained at her desk briefly to text a friend. Caceres Tello shut the classroom door, closed the blinds and sat at a desk next to her, pulling his chair close to the girl’s, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by State College police.
The girl told investigators her “heart dropped a little bit” and she began thinking “the worst.” When Caceres Tello began asking her sexual questions and got “uncomfortably close,” she started to cry, according to the affidavit.
Caceres Tello allegedly told the girl she was “too pretty to cry.” He then began touching her arms, neck, back and hair and rubbed her thigh through a rip in her jeans, according to the affidavit.
The girl said she she was stunned by the incident and didn’t know what to do, remaining in her seat with her legs shaking, police wrote.
When the lunch period ended, Caceres Tello opened the door and the girl immediately went to a bathroom where she informed a friend about what just happened. The friend told police the girl was shaking and at first barely able to speak, according to the affidavit.
The girl decided to hide in the bathroom for the remainder of the class period, and Caceres Tello sent another female student in to look for her, police wrote. On a separate occasion, Caceres Tello allegedly yelled for her from the doorway of the bathroom.
Caceres Tello interrupted the girl’s next class to speak with her in the hallway, where he told her “we don’t want to start rumors… you know nothing happened” and asked if she was mad at him, according to the affidavit. She told investigators she did not respond and backed away into the classroom.
The teacher of that class noticed the girl appeared to have been crying when she first arrived, police wrote. Caceres Tello interrupting the class to speak with her was “abnormal behavior for a teacher” and the girl appeared more upset when she returned, according to the affidavit.
The teacher asked to speak privately with the girl, who told her the details of the alleged assault, police wrote. The teacher informed high school administrators, who notified the State College police officer assigned to the school.
Video from security cameras and text messages from the girl to two friends “corroborated the victim’s account of the assault and the events that followed,” according to the affidavit.
Caceres Tello is charged with a felony account of unlawful contact with a minor and misdemeanor counts of corruption of minors and indecent assault.
He was arraigned by District Judge Gregory Koehle, who set unsecured bail at $50,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 26.
A State College Area School District spokesperson provided the following statement:
“Upon hearing of the incident on Dec. 19, 2022, the district immediately placed Mr. Caceres Tello on administrative leave and he subsequently resigned from the school district on Dec. 22, 2022.
“Student safety is our highest priority, and we are appalled by the deeply disturbing accusations against former teacher Mr. Caceres Tello. When our administration became aware of what a teacher had reported, we took immediate action, which included informing the police and protecting our high school students. Since that time, we have been cooperating with the police during their investigation and also providing support to anyone in need of assistance.
“Nothing is more critical than the trust of our students, employees, and community at-large. Any infringement on that relationship is heartbreaking, and we will do everything we can to repair any harm that has been done. Behavior of this alleged nature violates our core values and will never be tolerated.
“While we cannot discuss any more details during this process, we want to reassure our community that decisive measures have been taken related to this matter. As always, our commitment is to provide a nurturing environment where every student feels safe, respected, and able to reach their full potential. Anything less than that is unacceptable.”
