by | Published
BEXAR COUNTY, TX - A San Antonio ISD teacher has been arrested and charged with a felony after allegedly exposing himself to a young girl and performing a lewd act in a northwest Bexar County neighborhood.
Andrew Smierciak, 42, was taken into custody on Friday, January 23, 2026, and charged with Indecency with a Child, a third-degree felony. Smierciak, a Leadership Officer Training Corps (LOTC) instructor at Poe Middle School, was identified following a confrontation with a "Good Samaritan" who witnessed the aftermath of the assault.
According to Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar, the incident occurred Friday afternoon as a 9-year-old girl was walking along a neighborhood street. She passed a suspicious gray four-door vehicle and noticed the driver—described as having "red-orange hair"—smiling at her.
Investigators say Smierciak then exposed his genitalia to the child and began performing a lewd sex act. The girl’s screams alerted a nearby witness, a man in his 40s, who rushed to the scene just as the gray vehicle began to flee.
The witness followed the suspect in his company work truck, eventually trailing him into a business parking lot.
The Confrontation: The witness obtained the vehicle’s license plate number and confronted Smierciak directly.
The Evidence: The entire interaction in the parking lot was captured on the witness's work truck dash-cam, providing critical evidence for investigators.
While praising the citizen's bravery, Sheriff Salazar issued a stern warning regarding the confrontation.
"While we're extremely thankful for the heroic action of this witness and we're absolutely putting him in for a civilian award, confronting somebody in this situation is not something that we would recommend or endorse," Sheriff Salazar said. "In this instance, thank God everything worked out okay."
Smierciak has been a teacher at Poe Middle School and was recently recognized in November 2025 as an "outstanding" educator by the Extra Yard for Teachers program.
Following the arrest, the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) confirmed that Smierciak will not return to the classroom. The district released a statement emphasizing that student safety is their top priority and that they are fully collaborating with the Bexar County Sheriff's Office.
Because Smierciak’s profession placed him in daily contact with hundreds of children, authorities are concerned there may be additional victims who have not yet come forward.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information or who may have had similar encounters with the suspect to contact them at (210) 335-6000.
