St. Charles foster parent and former school worker accused of fondling children

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- (KTVI) -- A former City of St. Charles School District maintenance worker has been charged with statutory sodomy and assault. Court documents say that Samuel Sanchez-Mora, 39, of St. Peters was a foster care provider. Police say he victimized two foster children in his home. The children are no longer in his care. He is currently in police custody with a 100,000 bond.

The probable cause statement says that Sanchez-Mora was taking care of two girls between the ages of 8 and 10-years-old. They were both under the supervision of other foster parents. Sanchez-Mora was providing respite care. He is accused of violating the girls at the same time.

One of the children told their current foster father that he abused them between March 17 and 26, 2017. She told investigators that he touched her while they were watching a movie. She was too afraid to tell her foster parents and spent three hours that night crying.

The other girl told investigators a similar account. Sanchez-Mora fondled her while the two was watching a movie. He took her to breakfast the next day, apologized, and told her not to talk about it.

Sanchez-Mora confessed to reaching into one of the girl's pants. He also said that he spooned with the other girl.

Court documents quote Sanchez-Mora, “You start thinking that, you know what I mean, like sexually in a way. My hormones kick.”

Investigators asked why Sanchez-Mora apologized to one of the girls. He said that he knew it was wrong and he abused his position as a foster parent.

Statement from City of St. Charles School District regarding Samuel Sanchez:

On the afternoon of Monday, December 11th, it was brought to the attention of the City of St. Charles School District administration that Samuel Sanchez, a district maintenance employee, would be arrested for statutory sodomy and assault in the 4th degree. As soon as this information was presented, Sanchez resigned from all duties involving the district and his credentials and access to district buildings and resources were removed immediately. Sanchez has since been placed in the custody of the St. Peters Police.

Sanchez was hired by the district during the 2008-09 school year and passed all background and fingerprint checks. As a maintenance employee, Sanchez did not work directly with students.

According to St. Peters Police, the alleged victim is not a City of St. Charles School District student and the alleged incident did not occur on any school grounds. The safety of all students remains the district's top priority and we will cooperate with the authorities in any way possible. If anyone has any information that might be useful tothe investigation, they are encouraged to contact the St. Peters Police Department.

Our hearts go out to the victim and their family. Situations such as these are tragic and unfathomable. Anytime a child is the victim of abuse, it is a sad day for all. We willcontinue to do all we can to ensure that all students remain safe in our schools.