A former teacher in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) has been accused of and arrested for having improper relationships with 2 HISD middle school students.
In the 25-year-old ex-teacher’s court appearance on March 8, a judge set bonds of $40,000 for indecency with a child and $15,000 for improper relationship with a student, for a total of $55,000. The woman’s next court appearance is scheduled for May.
According to KTRK ABC 13 News, the former teacher is accused of having improper relationships with a then 13-year-old girl and a then 14-year-old girl while she taught at Holland Middle School on the east side of Houston. She was arrested and charged in October of 2022.
Houston police are investigating the case.
According to law enforcement, police found evidence that the woman had had sexual contact with the 13-year-old at her home after taking her to a waterpark, a mall and a movie. Police said the girl confirmed this.
A charging document reportedly includes romantic text messages from the woman to the student.
In a separate charging document, police said they learned of an additional alleged affair between the woman and a female student, then 14, who now attends an HISD high school. That relationship allegedly occurred in the summer of 2022.
Again, police said text messages from the woman revealed an inappropriate relationship, and the student told police that she and the woman had kissed.
The woman was fired by HISD on August 24, 2022. KTRK said the Texas Education Agency lists the woman’s teaching license as being under review, but it remains active during the investigation until a determination is made.
Increasingly, female teachers are being charged with sex crimes. Learn why and find out how their punishments often differ from male teachers charged with the same crimes.
Texas has harsh penalties for teachers
The state of Texas has mandated increasingly harsh penalties for teachers found guilty of having improper or sexual relationships with students, in part because the volume of such incidents has been growing steadily over the years.
If convicted, teachers can permanently lose their license to teach, as well as face high fines and even prison sentences.
An improper relationship between a teacher and a student can include any form of sexual contact between them.
The Texas Penal Code holds that any employee—and not just teachers—of a public or private primary or secondary school (elementary, middle or high school) commits a sex crime if they engage in “sexual contact, sexual intercourse or deviate sexual intercourse” with a student at the school where the employee works or a student in the same school district.
This means that, even if the sexual contact is consensual and the student is 18 years old, the school employee can still be charged with an improper relationship with a student.
The sex crime of improper relationships between educators and students is a 2nd-degree felony. Upon conviction, it can bring punishments, including a fine of as much as $10,000 and a sentence of 2 to 20 years in state prison—even for a first-time offender.
The age of the student also matters. If a school employee—or any adult—has sex with a child who is under 14 years old, that is a 1st-degree felony in Texas. Punishments upon conviction for that sex crime can include a fine of up to $10,000 and a sentence of 5 to 99 years in state prison.
As for indecency with a child, the Texas Penal Code on sexual offenses defines that in 2 ways:
- It is an offense if a person engages in sexual contact with a child or causes a child to engage in sexual contact when the child is younger than 17 years old, regardless of the child’s sex.
- It’s also an offense if a person engages in sexual exposure by exposing their genital area to the child or causing a child to expose his or her genital area.
The offense involving contact is a 2nd-degree felony for which punishments can include a fine of up to $10,000 and a prison sentence of up to 20 years. The offense involving exposure is a less severe 3rd-degree felony, bringing punishments, including a fine of up to $10,000 and a prison sentence of 2 to 10 years.
Whether they involve a teacher or any other adult, sex crimes involving children can also include such serious crimes as sexual assault of a child and aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Sex crime charges are bad enough under any circumstances, but what if they involve a child or a minor? Learn about your rights and potential punishments.
Why are charges increasing for teacher-student relationships?
As for why charges are increasing for teacher-student relationships—that can be attributed, in part, to the rise of social media and other connections on the internet, whether via cell phones or computers.
Cell phones and smartphones can lead to increases in arrests in 2 ways:
- Such devices now enable teachers and students to readily have contact outside the classroom, which would not have been the case in decades past.
- The presence of texts or emails between teachers and students later can provide evidence leading to arrests, charges and convictions.
Another factor contributing to the rising number of investigations is that Texas laws on such matters have changed.
A Texas law enacted in 2017 mandates that school principals must notify their school district’s superintendent if a teacher resigns or is terminated following allegations of serious misconduct with students.
Another new law in 2019 holds that school principals must report all suspected inappropriate relationship cases between teachers and students even if no sexual relationship is apparent. School officials can face sanctions themselves if they do not do this.
Before these new laws, if a teacher was found to have had an inappropriate but non-sexual relationship with a student, the teacher often was allowed to resign quietly or move to another school district.
Learn which behaviors cross a boundary that could get you charged with an improper student-teacher relationship in Texas.
Not all teachers are guilty of alleged sex crimes
It’s easy to accuse someone of doing something wrong—even if they didn’t. And not every teacher who’s accused of having an improper sexual relationship with a student is guilty of the crime.
In some cases, students harboring resentments toward a teacher—perhaps for receiving low grades—have accused the teacher of impropriety as a form of revenge. In other cases, students who have tried to pursue an improper relationship with a teacher have lashed out when the teacher stopped them.
Overzealous law enforcement officials and prosecutors can also contribute to innocent teachers being faced with harsh punishments for crimes they did not commit.
The National Education Association advises teachers who face false accusations to consult a legal representative, who should accompany them to any meeting involving the claim.
Get an experienced teacher-student sex crime lawyer
Persons living in the Houston area can get an experienced teacher-student sex crime lawyer by contacting the award-winning Neal Davis Law Firm. We stand ready to defend your legal rights.
