WEBSTER, Texas – A former Teacher of the Year in Texas faces allegations he sexually assaulted a third-grader years ago while tutoring the girl for the state’s standardized test.

A high school sophomore recently told her mother that McWhirter Elementary School teacher Oscar I. Perez sexually abused her several times when he tutored the girl for the state’s STAAR test in 2009, KTRK reports.

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Court records show Perez emailed the victim’s parents at the time and requested that the girl stay after school two days a week to study for the test, but allegedly used the time to take advantage of the student.

“The victim says he sat in a corner of the classroom and ‘would put her on his lap, straddling him, and bounce her up and down,’” according to the news site.

Perez also allegedly fondled the girl’s genitals several times, court records show.

The victim reported the abuse to a friend in the sixth grade, but did not tell her mother until more recently. An investigator also discovered that Perez allegedly rubbed another female student’s thighs during a test last school year, KTRK reports.

“Ironically, he was named McWhirter’s Teacher of the Year that same school year in 2009,” the site reports.

McWhirter principal Michael Marquez told the Pasadena Citizen at the time that Perez “is well liked by everyone – pupils, parents and faculty.

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“He’s a true team player and goes beyond the call of duty,” Marquez said.

Perez also discussed his teaching style with the Citizen, explaining that he plays soccer with students during recess to build relationships with students and earn their trust. He said he modeled his approach after his own sixth-grade teacher.

“It’s all about relationships,” Perez told the Citizen in 2009. “They need to trust you and understand that you are there to help them, and anything they need they can ask you.”

He also discussed how he’s keyed in on a general lack of confidence by his students.

“They need to believe that I, as a teacher, believe in them,” Perez said. “All of them can be successful, but I think that many times they don’t know that. They need someone to tell them that they can. There needs to be a good relationship between teacher and student, so the student can believe in his or herself.”

Perez now stands accused of continuous sexual abuse of a child, a felony that carries a potential punishment of life in prison, according to the Texas District & County Attorneys Association.

He’s currently out on bond.

Perez’s employer, the Clear Creek Independent School District, issued a statement to KTRK about the teacher’s recent arrest:

In the Clear Creek Independent School District, we are committed to providing a safe learning environment for all students. As soon as the District was notified of the student’s complaint, the teacher was put on leave on April 28, 2016 and has not returned. The District has cooperated fully with Galveston County law enforcement during their investigation and will continue to do so. Previously, the teacher had been placed on leave during a separate investigation from February 11-15, 2016.