

A former Houston elementary school substitute teacher was arrested on Wednesday after he was accused of inappropriate contact with three students.

Pete Garcia Hernandez, 49, was charged with three counts of indecency with a child after several parents complained in November that he had kissed and touched girls in the first grade class. The incidents reportedly occurred while he was assigned to the class from Oct. 24 to Nov. 4.

Three female students at Looscan Elemntary School told authorities that Hernandez had kissed them on the mouth, touched their chests and had them sit on his lap, news station KHOU reported.

Initially, Hernandez denied touching the students, but then said the kissing was an accident that occurred when he was “speaking close with them and his tongue accidentally went in their mouth,” according to court documents.

Hernandez, who is no longer employed by the district, confessed to investigators that he had sexual thoughts as students were on his lap for a lesson on “force of motion.”

“[Houston Independent School District] takes situations such as this very seriously, as the safety of students is always the district’s top priority,” the school district said in a statement obtained by news station KTRK.