A former employee with the Sharyland Independent School district is in custody after a 16-year-old student accused her of sexual assault, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Hidalgo County jail records show Samantha Lee Carranza was arraigned on charges of improper relationship between educator and student and sexual assault of a child.

Carranza, a former secretary for the assistant principal at Sharyland High School, was arrested following an alleged assault that a 16-year-old student reported to the Mission Police Department on Friday, Sept. 1.

According to the probable cause affidavit, the student — identified under the pseudonym “Cris” — said that on Thursday, Aug. 31, he went to Carranza’s office to borrow a cell phone charger. Carranza told the student to stay and charge his phone near her desk.

Carranza then started talking to the student about her family and said she is going through a divorce.

“Cris states the defendant then showed him a picture of her breasts from her cell phone which made him feel uncomfortable,” the affidavit stated. “Cris explains he started walking toward the door of the conference room, and the defendant proceeds to close the door and tell him ‘you’re not going anywhere.’”

Cris says Carranza then performed a sex act on him, and told him that if he told anyone about the incident she would “blame it all on him.”

In a statement to Channel 5 News Sharyland ISD spokeswoman Nancy Barboza said Carranza worked with the district until Sept. 7, and directed all further inquiries to Mission police.

Read the full statement below:

"We recently received a report of inappropriate conduct at Sharyland High School, which prompted an immediate inquiry.  We have actively engaged with law enforcement and various agencies, including the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and Child Protective Services (CPS).

It is the understanding of the District that the reported conduct serves as the basis of the arrest of former employee, Mrs. Samantha Carranza.  Mrs. Carranza worked as a paraprofessional at the District until September 7, 2023.  As the investigation remains ongoing, we request that all further inquiries to be directed to the Mission Police Department, the lead agency overseeing this matter.

At Sharyland Independent School District, the safety and well-being of our students and staff is our highest priority.  The District follows all legal requirements of obtaining a satisfactory criminal background check of each new hire prior to beginning employment.  Furthermore, there are protocols in place for reporting misconduct.  Our unwavering commitment is to provide a secure and conducive environment for every member of the SISD community. The District has a strict zero-tolerance policy when it comes to inappropriate behavior between staff members and students."