Former O'Donnell school employee admits to sending student obscene messages
A former O'Donnell boys basketball coach admitted on Tuesday to sending obscene text messages to a 14-year-old girl for a month last year.
However, Nicholas Bueno, 27, continues to challenge the accusation that he was trying to groom the girl into a physical sexual relationship with him.
Bueno appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge John R. Parker and pleaded guilty to three counts of transfer of obscene material to a minor. Each count carries up to 10 years in prison and could run consecutively.
Bueno, who is represented by Abilene attorney Jacob Austin Blizzard, is still set to stand before U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix on Friday for a bench trial on a charge of count of enticement and attempted enticement of a minor.
Prosecutors believe Bueno sent the girl the inappropriate text messages and videos to groom her into engaging in sexual activity with him.
If convicted on that charge, he faces a punishment of 10 years to life in prison.
Bueno's charges stem from an investigation by the Lynn County Sheriff's office that revealed Bueno was sending obscene messages to a 14-year-old student from Sept. 23 to Oct. 19, 2022.
The sheriff's office was contacted by O'Donnell school officials after they learned of an inappropriate relationship between a teacher and a student.
Bueno was hired as head coach of the O'Donnell boy's basketball team in May 2022, according to The Lamesa Press Reporter. He also worked as a science teacher.
Court documents state a student told school administrators she overheard another student discussing inappropriate text messages she received from Bueno.
School officials called the sheriff's office and an investigator met with the student and her mother and learned that Bueno asked the girl for her cell phone number as they rode a school bus at the end of a football game.
The next day, she told investigators Bueno began sending her inappropriate messages.
The communication lasted a month and ended when school officials learned of it.
The girl said Bueno deleted the messages from her phone. However, since the iPhone operating system allows users to recover deleted content, investigators restored the messages.
Investigators found nearly a monthlong string of inappropriate and explicit messages Bueno sent the girl. They also found a video Bueno sent the girl in which he can be seen performing a sexual act.
Investigators also spoke with Bueno, who initially denied communicating with the girl outside school. However, he ultimately admitted to it after he was confronted with the recovered messages.
Bueno told investigators he used a burner cellphone to hide his actions from his fiancée. He said he destroyed the device when he learned school officials found out what he did.
One of the texts Bueno reportedly sent the girl stated that, "Imma be your first for a lot of things especially first real love [heart emoji]," the documents state.
Bueno also sent the girl a video of him masturbating and asked her to "Delete it after."
Bueno was arrested on Oct. 19, 2022, and remains in custody.
After Bueno's arrest, O'Donnell ISD officials issued a statement informing parents that officials learned that week that an O'Donnell High School employee used electronic media to communicate inappropriately with a high school student.
The employee, who was not identified in the statement posted on Facebook, was put on administrative leave during the investigation.
"O'Donnell ISD wants to assure you that the safety and well-being of all our students remains our highest priority. We also expect the highest standard of professionalism and integrity from our employees and takes allegations such as these seriously and will always investigate and fully participate in law enforcement activities," the statement reads.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Nicholas Bueno admits to sending obscene messages
