LEWISVILLE, Texas – School officials at Creekside Elementary School are trying to determine how a 22-year-old magician was able kidnap a fourth-grade female student without anyone’s knowledge.
Police arrested Daniel Catarino Reyes Jan. 16 on an aggravated kidnapping charge. According to the girl’s father, Reyes took the 9-year-old to his home and asked her to perform sexual favors.
Reyes, a former student of Creekside, was released Jan. 17 on a $200,000 bond. Officials said Reyes was often at the school because he performed magic shows for the students. His public documents do not disclose a criminal history.
The student’s father, whose name has not been released in order to protect his daughter’s identity, questioned why faculty was unaware that his daughter was missing and why Reyes was allowed to roam freely around the campus.
According to state law, schools are required to have security plans and to train staff in safety procedures; however, it is up to the school district to determine the details of those plans. Other school districts said it was difficult to keep track of everyone and everything that comes in and out the school.
In a written statement, Karen Permetti, a Lewisville school spokeswoman, said the district was reviewing procedures to make sure such an incident does not happen again.
The school’s principal, Steve Polzer, issued a letter to parents explaining that Reyes had shown up on campus to visit his former teachers. His visit was not scheduled.
According to the victim’s father, four girls, including his daughter, volunteered to be Reyes’ assistants. He rejected two of the girls and brought the other two into the hallway.
The victim said Reyes sent the other student back to the classroom and then escorted the victim outside of the school’s premises and drove her to his parents’ residence. The student was taken around 11:30 a.m. and returned at 12:30 p.m., according to the victim’s father.
The student told her father, who then relayed the information back to police, that during the hour the young girl was missing, Reyes blindfolded her and asked her to perform a sexual act. The girl said she didn’t perform the act, but Reyes was videotaping the whole event. The girl also said Reyes asked her to rub his hands and pose for pictures, which she obliged.
When the student returned to the school, school officials learned of the incident. Polzer immediately contacted the girl’s mother. Around 1:45 p.m., the police were contacted.
Police are trying to determine whether the girl was sexually assaulted, although there was no sign of physical contact.
Later that evening, police searched Reyes’ home and confiscated a few items of interest.
Officials are determining whether Reyes signed in at the school and how he was able to escort the young girl off the premises.
According to Billy G. Jacobs, the associate director for the Texas School Safety Center, schools are required to conduct safety audits and report the results to the center. Recommendations for the audit include an intruder assessment in which someone who is unknown tries to enter into the school without properly checking in.
Some school districts around the Dallas area have installed scanners in the front offices that read the visitor’s driver’s license, checks to see if the person is a sex offender and prints out a photo identification badge. Others have added video surveillance, mandatory ID badges and panic alarms on doors.
Officials for the Dallas school district said the scanning system would cost too much for the 230 schools in the area, and it wouldn’t prevent someone from taking a student off campus through the side doors.
