Affidavit reveals new details about case against IDEA Mission teacher accused of improper relationship with student

When the Mission Police Department started investigating whether or not a teacher at IDEA Mission had sex with a student, the teacher asked the student to “delete all the messages and pictures between them,” according to an affidavit filed with the Mission Municipal Court.

The affidavit, which a police investigator filed on Jan. 18, reveals new details about the case against Karen Bereniz Sosa, 27, of Mission.

Sosa worked at IDEA Mission, which is located on Schuerbach Road.

In mid-December, a student told two other students that he “just had a sexual encounter with his teacher.”

Word about what happened apparently spread.

In January, when classes resumed after winter break, another student told a teacher what happened. IDEA Mission contacted the police department, which sent an investigator to interview the student who allegedly had sex with Sosa.

Karen Bereniz Sosa. (Photo courtesy of the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office.)

The student, a 17-year-old senior who is identified in the affidavit as “John Doe,” said he’d known Sosa for about three years.

“John Doe stated that he and Karen Sosa would message each other thru Instagram message where she had sent him flirty texts and lewd pictures of herself,” according to the affidavit.

They met at a park in Mission on Dec. 18 or Dec. 19, when IDEA Mission was closed for winter break.

“Soon after Karen Sosa entered his vehicle and they engaged in a sexual encounter,” according to the affidavit. “They both left the area soon after in their vehicles.”

According to the student, Sosa contacted him on Jan. 11 — the day before police interviewed him — “and wanted him to delete all the messages and pictures between them, which he did.”

Court records don’t list an attorney for Sosa, who couldn’t be reached for comment.

“At IDEA Public Schools, the safety of our students and staff is our top priority. IDEA Mission is aware of allegations of an inappropriate relationship involving a staff member. IDEA officials have launched a thorough investigation and are fully cooperating with local law enforcement,” according to a statement released by IDEA. “The staff member is no longer employed at IDEA Public Schools. As this is an ongoing investigation, all further questions should be directed to the appropriate law enforcement agency.”

Sosa is charged with improper relationship between educator and student, a second-degree felony. If convicted, she faces 2 to 20 years in prison.