TAMPA - Hillsborough County sheriff’s investigators are reviewing whether a Tampa actor will face criminal charges for admitting after he acknowledged, in a sworn deposition, to having sexual relations with children decades ago.

Jorge Acosta, 48, testified Feb. 7 as part of a $5 million civil lawsuit against Mary Help of Christians School in Tampa and the Catholic order that operated it, the Salesian Society and the Salesian Society of Florida. In the deposition, Acosta said he had admitted to having sexual relations with at least three teenage boys in 1983 while working as a cleric and teacher at the school.

St. Petersburg’s Galaxy Center for the Arts fired Acosta as artistic director after his past was made public in a Tampa Tribune article report.

On Wednesday, sheriff’s spokeswoman Debbie Carter said investigators reviewing the deposition must determine what the allegations are and how old the victims were at the time before pursuing a criminal case. “Our detectives are looking into it,” she said.

Acosta said he was not aware of the review and had no comment.

Get Weekly Deals | Write a letter to the editor | Subscribe and get two weeks free | Place an Ad