Federal trial set for former H-E-B principal

The federal trial for a former Hurst-Euless-Bedford elementary principal accused of enticing a minor is scheduled for Feb. 16.

Oscar Figueroa, 47, the ex-principal at Virdian Elementary School in Arlington, was indicted last year on a count of enticement of a minor, stemming from allegations he agreed to meet someone he thought was a juvenile at Stonebriar Centre mall in Frisco. That person turned out to be an undercover detective.

If the case is not tried Feb. 16, officials have scheduled March 28 in the Paul Brown U.S. Courthouse in Sherman for the trial.

If convicted, Figueroa faces a maximum of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Figueroa resigned as principal of the school days after his arrest. The school is in north Arlington, but in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford school district.

Figueroa was arrested on July 7 by Frisco police.

Federal court documents gave this account of the case:

Figueroa placed an ad on Craigslist calling himself a “daddy,” seeking to have sex with a “son” at Stonebriar Centre. Figueroa later told Frisco police that was not his first time posting on Craigslist.

Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Jason Mitchell later testified at a July detention hearing for Figueroa that the former principal sent text messages seeking to have sex to the undercover officer.

Figueroa directed the undercover officer to a movie theater and then a restroom. He was later arrested.

After his arrest, Figueroa’s cellphone was checked by federal agents and images of young males in various states of undress were found, Mitchell said at the hearing.

Figueroa was ordered detained during the July hearing. His attorney filed a motion for a new detention hearing, which was denied in November, according to court documents. At the July hearing, multiple letters of support were submitted and his brother and father-in-law spoke on his behalf.

Court officials determined that he was a flight risk because he is a Mexican national and his family owns property in Mexico.

20 years in education

Figueroa has been an educator for 20 years. He joined the H-E-B district in 2007 as a bilingual/ESL coordinator, a position he had for four years before he was appointed principal at Hurst Hills Elementary in 2011, according to district spokeswoman Judy Ramos.

Figueroa was named principal at Viridian Elementary in January 2014 and began hiring staff and working as principal while the school was under construction, according to the district.

Earlier in his career, Figueroa worked in the Richardson and Little Elm school districts. In 2004, he opened Carolyn G. Bukhair Elementary School in Richardson.

While in Little Elm, Figueroa was the district gifted-and-talented coordinator, grant writer and bilingual/ESL coordinator. He was also principal of King Early Childhood Center.

Figueroa has a master’s of education degree from Southern Methodist University and a bachelor of science from North Central Bible College in Minneapolis, according to the H-E-B district website.

This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.

This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Federal trial set for former H-E-B principal."