SAN ANTONIO – A University of Texas at San Antonio professor who owns an engineering company allegedly admitted to sexually exploiting an employee who was also his former student, according to a lawsuit filed in Bexar County.
Manuel Diaz, an engineering professor at UTSA and owner of Star Engineering Group, Inc., is accused of “sexual voyeurism and exploitation” of employee Edith Estrada-Contreras in September during a work trip to Houston.
The lawsuit was filed Nov. 19 in the 166th District Court by Estrada-Contreras.
After checking into a hotel, Diaz returned to a truck after about 25 minutes and gave Estrada-Contreras only one room key. The suit alleges Diaz used the time alone to “flip the peep hole” in her hotel room.
A hotel clerk and another guest told Estrada-Contreras they saw Diaz “looking through the peep hole” into her room, the filing stated.
She confronted Diaz, who initially denied the allegations but then admitted what he had done after learning witnesses had seen him, according to the lawsuit.
The next day, Diaz emailed Estrada-Contreras asking for forgiveness.
The lawsuit quotes the message as saying, in part, “Please, please forgive me for my shameful behavior.”
According to the lawsuit, Diaz was Estrada-Contreras’ professor in two engineering courses at UTSA.
Estrada-Contreras alleges Diaz’s actions ended her first engineering job and caused emotional and professional damages. The suit notes she was a UTSA Top Scholar with a 4.0 GPA.
She is seeking a monetary relief over $250,000 but less than $1 million.
KSAT has requested comment from UTSA and Star Engineering Group and has not heard back as of Wednesday night.
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