ODEM, Tx — A 19-year-old Odem-Edroy High School student has been arrested and charged with indecency with a child following an alleged assault on a school bus in December.
Christopher Jacob Soto was arrested Sunday and has since bonded out on a $75,000 bond, according to San Patricio County Sheriff Oscar Rivera.
In a statement, Rivera said that on December 9, 2025, an Odem ISD juvenile student was assaulted by another student on an Odem ISD school bus while returning from an event in Hebbronville, Texas.
The San Patricio County Sheriff's Office was notified of the assault on December 12, 2025, and an investigation was conducted. Rivera said the juvenile victim was forensically interviewed, and evidence was collected that established sufficient probable cause for the arrest of Christopher Jacob Soto for indecency with a child, a second-degree felony.
Rivera told KRIS 6 News that his office reviewed surveillance video from the school bus before obtaining a warrant for Soto's arrest.
The father of one of the boys who was allegedly assaulted told KRIS 6 News that his son was assaulted by students on the bus while three coaches failed to supervise the students.
"He was stripped, held down and his shirt was pulled over his head, his pants were pulled off and they attempted to remove his underwear," the father said.
The father also said students touched his son's genitals during the assault, and that another student videotaped the incident.
KRIS 6 News has reached out to the Odem-Edroy school district for comment but has not yet received a response.
