SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A teacher at Sunset Park Elementary School in Southwest Miami-Dade allegedly showed students sexually explicit images and videos and inappropriately touched several of them, according to a Miami-Dade Schools Police arrest report.
Cesar Oriol Cardoso, 53, was identified by investigators as the teacher at the center of an investigation that began in April after police received allegations involving multiple students.
According to the arrest report, one student said Cardoso would pull her and other students from physical education, intervention or lunch and bring them back to his classroom to complete schoolwork.
The student told detectives Cardoso would call her to his desk and show her inappropriate images and videos on his cellphone.
She also said the suspect showed her a nude photograph of himself.
During a separate encounter, another student said, Cardoso showed her an inappropriate image. She asked him, “Why are you showing me that?”
Cardoso responded, “I’m sorry,” according to the arrest report.
That student also alleged Cardoso later attempted to touch her upper thigh or buttocks while she was in a back room of his classroom.
The student said she moved his hand away and told him not to touch her. According to investigators, Cardoso again said he was sorry.
A former student told detectives Cardoso would touch her arm and thigh and slap her buttocks. She said that when Cardoso called her and another student to his desk, she would respond, “No.”
Another student told investigators that “Cardoso approached her, told her that he wanted to kiss her, and leaned toward her as if attempting to do so,” the report states. That student said she turned her head to the side and walked away.
Detectives interviewed Cardoso on Friday at Miami-Dade Schools Police headquarters.
Cardoso was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in West Miami-Dade.
Parents picking up their children from the school on Monday were appalled to learn about the allegations.
“You figure a kid is safe in school, you know, this is like the safest place in the community, and for somebody to just be here like that under that condition and you have no idea who’s where and what they’re capable of,” said parent Francisco Medina.
“It’s just disgusting; it’s disturbing,” said parent Rachel Richard.
“Definitely not good, especially when he gave classes in the morning for tutoring,” said parent Veronica Bailey.
With investigators listing five potential victims, some parents were disturbed to realize how close Cardoso had been to their students the past school year.
“My daughter was in his classroom for home room and math so it was the same last year, and then he abruptly left,” said Richard.
Richard added that many parents are also worried at the school’s lack of transparency over the incident.
“When a parent drops their kid off at school, you imagine and hope they’re going to be safe and then they’re not and then the school doesn’t reveal such important information,” said Richard.
In a statement from the district, officials said they were deeply troubled by the allegations and blocked Cardoso from being employed by the school system following his departure over the summer:
School administration acted swiftly upon learning of these allegations in April 2026 and removed the teacher from the school setting on the next business day. Miami-Dade Schools Police subsequently launched a formal investigation. The individual separated from M-DCPS in May 2026 and was arrested on September 11, 2026. Behavior of this nature will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Although he is no longer employed by M-DCPS, he is permanently precluded from seeking or obtaining future employment with the District.
Cardoso remains behind bars without bond.
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