He also sent the girl text messages after the alleged incident asking if he could come to her house for "a little squeeze."
Marcos Cantu, a 39-year-old teacher at Valley Vista High School, has been charged with one count of sexual abuse for allegedly groping his niece as he drove her home from school.
According to court records, Cantu had picked up the girl from basketball tryouts on January 4. When they got to Cantu's house, the two stopped at the gate where twice he asked if he could touch the girl's breast. The girl gave each request the thumbs down, but Cantu, court docs show, went for it anyway.
The girl later told cops that as she was getting out of the vehicle, Cantu grabbed her left breast. He went even further and informed her that his penis was erect and asked if she'd be interested in touching it, which she wasn't.
The victim told police that a few days after the alleged boob grab, Cantu sent her text messages asking if she was home and if she was alone. In one text message, Cantu asked if he could "come over for a squeeze."
Cantu asked the girl to delete the text messages, and later, during a confrontation call with the girl, Cantu told her that she was "the only one who could fix this," and told her to tell police she was mad at him and made up the story about the alleged boob grab.
Cantu told the girl that the boob grab was just a wrestling move and that he had "let it go too far."
When interviewed by detectives, Cantu told authorities he had put the girl in a headlock, and had perhaps grabbed her breast in the process. Then he lawyered up and ended the interview.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office says it's received no information that Cantu abused anyone else but that there could be more victims.
Anyone with information about more potential victims of Cantu's is asked to call the MCSO at 602-876-1087.
