Former Arlington Youth Football Committee Chairman Arrested On Child Sex Charges
ARLINGTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - A former Arlington youth football committee chairman is in jail on child sexual abuse charges.
According to court records, Carlos Alberto Guzman is accused of possession of child pornography and continuous sexual assault of a child under 14.
His bond is set at more than $22,000.
Guzman was a former committee chairman for the Optimist Club of Arlington's football program.
In a statement, the club said "Guzman left on his own accord in 2016 and that no allegation of misconduct was presented to any Optimist Club member in a supervisory position while or after Guzman was affiliated with the football program or club."
Here is the complete statement:
It has come to our attention that former Optimist Club of Arlington Football Project Committee Chairman, Carlos Guzman, was recently arrested.
Mr. Guzman left the club after the 2016 football season of his own accord to pursue interests outside of the club. At no time was any allegation of misconduct brought to any Optimist member in a supervisory position or the Board of Directors while or after Mr. Guzman was affiliated with the football program or club.
The Optimist Club of Arlington has and will continue to perform criminal background checks and registered sex offender checks on each and every member in our programs since the late 1980s. This included Mr. Guzman. There was nothing in his background check that would have precluded him from being involved with the youth programs. Mr. Guzman was coaching in Lamar's 7 on 7 programs and to our knowledge, there have been no accusations presented to Lamar HS or Arlington ISD.
The allegations against Mr. Guzman have been investigated by the Arlington Police Department and presented to the Tarrant County District Attorney's office for subsequent prosecution. At no time has the Optimist Club of Arlington been contacted by the Arlington Police Department or the Tarrant County District Attorney's office. The Optimist Club of Arlington has had a long-standing program, Respect for the Law, and would cooperate fully with any investigation if authorities are concerned that any of our participants might have been involved.
This is a sad and unfortunate event and the Optimist Club of Arlington does not condone or tolerate any actions that would put children at any risk. We do certainly empathize with the families of any child who has ever endured abuse at the hands of a trusted adult. We would encourage any parent or guardian that is aware of or suspects any misconduct in this matter to please contact the detective in charge at the Arlington Police Department.
The Arlington Voice contacted the Optimist Club of Arlington on Friday afternoon inquiring about Mr. Guzman's arrest. Considering the police department and the district attorney did not contact us about their case, the club did not have an official statement prepared for the article posted on Facebook only a few hours after the initial phone call.
The Optimist Club of Arlington has been sponsoring youth sports programs for the last 70 years and have been diligent for the safety and protection of everyone participating.
While no amount of checks can ever know what someone's true intent is, we believe we take what precautions we can take to protect the youth in our programs.
