Dead school custodian was sex offender

RHOME, Texas, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Rhome, Texas, school officials tried to determine how a custodian and registered sex offender, found dead in a locker room, circumvented background checks.

Rhome police Sgt. Jennifer Ruiz said authorities believe Jose Hector Cortes-Lopez, who obtained his job under the alias Hector Garza, died accidentally while attempting autoerotic asphyxiation, a process that involves using asphyxiation to increase sexual pleasure, the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram reported Thursday.

Cortes-Lopez, 40, was found suffocated with a bag over his head in the boy's locker room at Chisholm Trail Middle School.

The Northwest school district said it is reviewing its procedures to determine how Cortes-Lopez was able to circumvent background checks that are designed to weed out sex offenders.

"We really want our parents and the community to know the safety of our students is so important to us," Northwest spokeswoman Lesley Weaver said. "We're very disappointed this has happened."

Cortes-Lopez was convicted in 2000 and 2004 on misdemeanor charges of indecent exposure.