SAN ANTONIO – The former chief executive officer of Laurel Ridge Treatment Center, who was arrested last week in a child sexual abuse case, apparently had a concerning criminal history before being hired in San Antonio.
Jacob Cuellar, 45, voluntarily resigned from his job as CEO three weeks ago, according to a statement Monday from Laurel Ridge. He became CEO in 2012.
Cuellar was arrested last Thursday on a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child.
Report: Girl made outcry 2 years ago that led to sex charges against Laurel Ridge’s ex-CEO
A report from San Antonio police indicated that the girl involved in the case was 11 at the time when she made the allegations in 2022.
Based on the information in the report, it does not appear she was a patient at Laurel Ridge, a mental health facility that treats children and adults.
KSAT 12 News has since learned that Cuellar applied for a license as a medical doctor in North Carolina in 2008 but was denied. Information on the North Carolina Medical Board’s website indicated that the reason for the denial was due to a 1999 criminal conviction for preparing an obscene photo.
Although that criminal charge does not appear on his online record in North Carolina, it did show up in other internet databases.
Another website revealed that the conviction stemmed from an August 1998 arrest on six counts of pornography.
KSAT 12 News requested information last Friday from Laurel Ridge regarding Cuellar’s employment there, among other things.
In a statement sent Monday morning, the facility did not address questions regarding the length of his employment. Instead, it simply stated that he voluntarily resigned from his position three weeks ago and that there were no allegations of improper conduct by Cuellar toward any patients at the center.
Still, given his criminal history, some wonder how he was ever allowed to work there.
“If they knew that he already had those allegations and stuff like that, they shouldn’t have even hired him,” said one man, who did not want to be identified, as he dropped off an underage loved one for treatment. “Some of the kids that go here are here for trauma from sexual assaults.”
Monday morning, KSAT 12 News submitted a second request, including more questions about Cuellar, to Laurel Ridge’s management.
In it, we asked whether the facility had conducted a background check on Cuellar before hiring him and whether management was aware of his criminal history.
On Monday afternoon, a spokesperson provided the date when Cuellar assumed his role as CEO and more in a statement:
“Jacob Cuellar was subject to fingerprinting and background clearances as part of his eligibility for hire. The position he was hired for did not require a medical license nor did he ever practice as a physician in any of his roles with the organization; therefore, the medical license was not part of his required checks. Mr. Cuellar became CEO of Laurel Ridge Treatment Center in 2012.
Mr. Cuellar became CEO of Laurel Ridge Treatment Center in 2012. We are not aware of any complaints or notifications that Mr. Cuellar was viewing pornography in his office nor violating any policies regarding appropriate conduct of a facility leader.
Mr. Cuellar voluntarily resigned and immediately left his position at Laurel Ridge Treatment Center three weeks ago (May 22, 2024). Based upon the information we have, this is not related in any manner to Laurel Ridge Treatment Center and we are not aware of any allegations of improper conduct by Mr. Cuellar with any patients at Laurel Ridge Treatment Center.”
Their statement does not specifically address whether the facility was aware of Cuellar’s criminal history.