By Corinne Murdock |

A Phoenix-area Spanish teacher, 50-year-old Ernesto Moncada-Cota, was arrested earlier this week on allegations of a sexual relationship with a minor student. 

Law enforcement charged Moncada-Cota with six felony counts of sexual conduct with a minor and sexual abuse according to reporting from Arizona Daily Independent.

Moncada-Cota, an immigrant from Mexico City, Mexico, taught at the Arizona Conservatory For Arts and Academics, where his alleged victim was a student. Moncada-Cota immigrated to Arizona around 2000 on a type of work visa, according to his statements made in various interviews and skits over the years. Administrators at the charter school became aware of Moncada-Cota’s alleged relationship on Tuesday, according to the Phoenix Police Department. That same day, Moncada-Cota was arrested. 

Outside of teaching, Moncada-Cota was a longtime fixture in Phoenix’s local art scene as a performer, writer, musician, and director openly supportive of progressive social justice views like Black Lives Matter. 

Moncada-Cota would feature his views through his art. One such display relative to his alleged recent crime was a 2011 skit focused on opposition to a controversial immigration enforcement bill: SB 1070, enabling law enforcement to request proof of citizenship from those suspected of being in the country illegally, which the Supreme Court largely upheld. In the skit, Moncada-Cota had a mock altercation with an actor portraying then-Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a major proponent of the bill. 

In his skit, Moncada-Cota overpowers and whips the Arpaio character, who falls to the ground and becomes unresponsive, repeatedly calling him a “cabron” (meaning “b*****d” in English).

As one of his criticisms of Arpaio in the skit, Moncada-Cota questioned in a monologue why Arpaio would want to remove individuals like the “super hot” 12-year-old Latina girls he sees accompanying their parents at the supermarket.

“[The family is in] Ranch Market, you know, and the daughters are following them, super hot, like 22 hot in a magazine — they’re 12,” said Moncada-Cota. “Why does he want that out?”

Moncada-Cota then referred to the young girls as “cheap labor that looks good.”

Moncada-Cota’s other artistic endeavors included his work at the Alwun House, where he would host an annual Erotic Poetry & Music Festivus and various burlesque shows known as “Provocatease,” and an experimental theater ensemble called “Arcana Collective.”

Another recurring event featuring Moncada-Cota was a “satanic mass,” in honor of classic horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. Moncada-Cota told The Arizona Republic in 2014 that he had fun creating disturbing visuals for participants. 

“I’d always wanted to stage a satanic mass just for the fun of it,” said Moncada-Cota.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.