Janitor Jailed After Being Caught With Boy Twice

Custodian held on $250,000 bond, charged with indecency with a child

A Calhoun Middle School janitor has been arrested and charged with indecency with a child after Denton police say the man engaged in sexual contact with a 12-year-old boy.

According to police, 62-year-old Ambrocio Mata was caught twice with the boy, first in a locked janitor's closet by another janitor, and later in a classroom by yet another janitor.

In the arrest affidavit, Denton police said a janitor opened a locked closet Oct. 22 and found Mata and a young boy inside.  When the door was opened, the janitor reported the boy ran out of the closet and to his next class.

The custodian who opened the door, Leticia Sosa, reported the incident to her mother Dina Sosa, who is the school registrar. She also told another custodian. According to the affidavit, Dina Sosa reported the incident to school resource officer Eric Coulston.

On Oct. 29, custodian Lloyd Spence went to find Mata on the third floor, where he was designated to be working. Upon entering an 8th grade classroom, Spence found Mata and the same 7th grade student from the closet standing very close to one another.  When Spence entered the room, the student immediately ran to the other side of the room, according to the affidavit.

Spence questioned the child and then took him to school resource officer Eric Coulston. Coincidentally, the boy's mother was present in Coulston's office because she had become concerned with the amount of time it had taken her son to meet her to be picked up.

In an interview with Coulston, the child said he was there to receive tutoring but was unable to give the name of the teacher he was supposed to meet. Coulston later learned that none of the boy's teachers had planned to meet with the 7th grader in the 8th grade classroom.

In a discussion about the closet, the boy told police was there because he had helped an "old lady" put a mop bucket in the closet and that the man got very close to him and made him feel uncomfortable.  In the affidavit, the boy is quoted as telling the officer, "That man needs to be checked out because he can hurt kids."

In his investigation, Coulston reviewed video footage of the hallway and saw a man police identified as Mata appear in the empty hallway, followed a short time later by the boy.  The two looked around, and hugged and kissed before the boy appeared to touch and make a gesture with his head toward the man's genitals, police said.  In the affidavit, investigators said it was not clear if Mata was exposed. The man and boy then can be seen walking down the stairs toward the janitor's closet, Coulston reported.

During an interview with police on Oct. 31, the boy identified Mata from images taken from the surveillance video as the one who makes him very uncomfortable.  In the affidavit, the boy describes the man as "the creepy janitor" and said the custodian had asked him to rub his leg and "stuff."

According to the affidavit, the boy said the janitor threatened to hurt him and that he felt like he needed police protection while in school.  He said he wanted to run and tell the principal, but felt that if he did he would be harmed.

We have learned Mata was no stranger to authorities having had three DWI's and an unlawful weapons charge, according to Denton Police.

The Denton ISD said it does perform background checks, including having done one on Mata. The district says his most recent DWI occurred in 2010 and that he was honest about it. A district spokesperson said his unlawful weapons possession charge was more than two decades old.

When asked why he was employed at the school district with a record, the district's spokeswoman said she could not discuss Mata's employment because it is a personnel issue.

Mata was arrested on Nov. 4 and is currently being held in the Denton County Jail on $250,000 bond. He has been charged with indecency with a child/sexual contact and is no longer employed by the district.

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