Spanish Program Owner Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Child

CHARLOTTE, NC– The owner of a program that teaches children Spanish is accused of sexually assaulting a little girl in Dilworth.

Ricardo Mata is known for his company called PlaySpanish.

Now, he’s in jail and could be deported.

The parents of a seven-year-old girl told police that Mata exposed his genitals to the girl at his PlaySpanish Summer camp.

They say it happened in July 2017 at the camp at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Dilworth.

The church sent us a letter that says, in part, it requires everyone with access to kids to take child protection training.

Mata is banned from the campus.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools also banned Mata.

The district says he volunteered in schools in December 2017. It did not say which schools and did not have the dates he began volunteering.

The PlaySpanish website says Nata is from Venezuela. It says he opened the company 21 years ago because his true passion is “working with children”.

It says PlaySpanish has taught more than “…15,000 children throughout the greater Charlotte area.”

Recent locations include:
First United Methodist Church, Myers Park Baptist, Providence Baptist, Steele Creek Presbyterian, Kids R Kids Blakeney.

The website says the camp was closed this year- before Mata’s arrest.
The Secretary of State says the company dissolved in February 2018 because it did not file an annual report.

Mata is under ICE hold. That means he could be transferred to federal custody and he could be deported. His next court date is a bond hearing on April 2, 2018.