Call Now  (713) 227-4444 Email Us Hablamos
Español

Neal Davis Blog

  • About
    • Neal Davis
    • Tyler Brock
    • Andrew Jordan
    • Hiring An Attorney
  • Expertise
    • Criminal Defense
    • Sex Crime Defense
    • Child Pornography
    • Child Solicitation
    • Drug Possession
    • White Collar Crimes
    • Shoplifing/Theft
    • DWI
    • Murder Defense
    • Assault & Family Violence
    • Title IX Defense
  • Results
  • Reviews
  • Press
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Criminal Defense Guides
    • Scholarships
Home / Sex Crimes / Improper Teacher-Student Relationships Are On the Rise in Texas

Improper Teacher-Student Relationships Are On the Rise in Texas

September 23, 2022

Texas student-teacher sex crime charges

Increasingly, it seems, teachers are facing sex crime charges involving improper relationships with students. Such charges can lead to severe punishments, including years in prison.

According to the Texas Education Agency (TEA), these crimes have been rising each year, including a 36 percent jump in the 2017 fiscal year—the 7th consecutive year that number rose.

Hundreds of sex crime investigations open in recent years

A report in the Houston Chronicle indicated that the TEA opened 302 investigations into improper teacher-student relationships in 2016-2017 alone.

In addition, during the 2018-2019 fiscal years, TEA tracked 442 such inappropriate relationships. And since 2010, over 1,500 investigations into improper teacher-student relationships have been opened.

Such sex crimes are unfortunately common in the Houston area.

In 2019, a teacher in the Houston Independent School District was charged with sexual assault of a child under 17 after a student claimed she had performed oral sex on him.

Of course, these offenses aren’t confined to Texas, and they’re often widely reported as national news. According to a report by People magazine, this month, a North Carolina public school teacher who was once nominated as “Teacher of the Year” was arrested and charged with statutory rape of a child less than 15 years old.

The suspect, who’s the mother of 4, asked a judge to set her bond amount at a low figure so she could pay it and return home to take care of her children. That was denied. Instead, her bond was set at $1 million.

How Texas sex crime laws have changed

Texas sex crime laws have changed to combat this ongoing crisis.

In 2017, Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a bill that requires school principals to notify their school district superintendents if a teacher is terminated or resigns after allegations of serious misconduct.

Another new law, which took effect in September 2019, requires superintendents to report within 7 days when a non-certified employee resigns or is terminated due to allegations of an improper relationship with a student.

How social media is impacting this crisis

TEA says the rise of social media has had 2 substantial impacts on the situation.

First, social media gives teachers greater access to contact students (and gives students greater access to contact teachers) beyond a normal classroom situation— and thus can contribute to improper teacher-student relationships.

Second, evidence revealed on social media can contribute to pinpointing such improper relationships and, later, to prosecution. In fact, an improper teacher-student relationship may exist entirely on social media and still be an arrest-worthy offense.

Take the case of disgraced former New York congressman Anthony Weiner, who was sentenced to 21 months in prison for “sexting” with a minor he’d never actually met in person.

Texas treats teacher sex offenders harshly

Texas also tends to treat teacher sex offenders harshly—along with others who commit sex crimes involving minors.

In Texas, a sex crime involving a minor may lead to decades in prison and high fines, as well as having to register as a sex offender upon release from prison.

Female offenders are more common among teachers

According to the Center for Sex Offender Management (CSOM), while women in the general population account for only around 10 percent of all sex crimes reported to authorities, as much as 30 percent of sexual offenses committed by teachers against students are committed by women teachers.

The CSOM, run by the US Department of Justice, says many of these women strongly deny that they committed such crimes.

Another recent study, which was conducted by Fox News Digital, found a percentage almost as high for female teachers, rather than male teachers, committing sex crimes against students.

Its analysis of publicized cases in the first 4 and a half months of 2022 showed that 30 of the 135 US teachers arrested for child-related sex crimes were female, while 105 were male. That means over 22 percent of teachers involved in teacher-student sex crimes were female.

While 22 percent is less than the 30 percent of females involved in teacher-student sex crimes in the CSOM study, it’s still far more than the general population numbers showing that women are the offenders in 10 percent of all sex crimes involving persons of any age.

Teacher-student sex crimes make the news

Sex crimes involving children have a high degree of notoriety. They receive more publicity, more public outrage and harsher penalties than sex crimes in general.

This means that male and female teachers are more in the spotlight when it comes to teacher-student sex crimes, which can be committed by teachers, substitute teachers or teachers’ aides.

Varied types of teacher-student sex crimes

Such teacher-student sex crimes can occur across a broad range of varied offenses, from child pornography to sexual assault to sexual abuse of students.

In Texas, even “sexting” can be treated as a sex crime in cases when a teacher and a student share sexual images via their cell phones. (Cell phone usage has contributed both to teachers’ accessibility to students and to evidence in criminal cases.)

Though not referred to as “sexting” under Texas Penal Code §43.24, the process that’s forbidden by Texas law is the same. An adult who displays or distributes material that’s harmful or prurient (excessively sexual) to a minor under the age of 18 has committed a crime in Texas.

Even teens who have reached the age of consent in Texas, which is 17, should not be involved in such sharing of sexual material with an adult. (The age of consent is the age at which a person can legally consent to sexual activity.)

While teens can legally share such images with a dating partner within 2 years of their own age, if a 17-year-old share sexual images with an adult aged 20 or older, that can be considered a crime—for both the teen and adult.

In fact, if a teacher receives sexual images from a student, that can constitute the crime of possession of child pornography.

Another teacher sex crime charge

Also, keep in mind that even if a student is 17 or older and thus is of the legal age to consent to sexual contact (that occurs with their consent), under Texas law, a teacher can still be charged with an improper relationship with a student.

Along with teachers, any employee of a public or private elementary school, middle school or high school commits a crime by having sexual contact with a student of any age who is enrolled at their school or is enrolled in their school district.

Besides an improper relationship with a student, such crimes can include:

  • Sexual assault of a child
  • Aggravated sexual assault of a child
  • Indecency with a child

Penalties for improper relationship charges in Texas

“Improper relationships” include any sexual contact between a teacher and a student. Under Texas sex crime laws, a teacher having sex with a student under 17 is a 2nd-degree felony.

The Texas Penal Code states that punishment for such a crime includes a prison sentence of at least 2 years and up to 20 years, as well as a fine of up to $10,000 upon conviction.

Even worse would be an adult having sex with a child under 14 years of age. That is a 1st-degree felony in Texas, with punishments including 5 to 99 years in prison and a fine of as much as $10,000.

Crime Classifications in Texas

The state of Texas classifies crimes into one of three categories. These classifications (listed in order of severity) are: felonies, misdemeanors and minor offenses.

Read more

 

Get a skilled teacher-student sex crime defense lawyer

Texas and other states are taking such crimes so seriously that punishments can be extremely harsh—and sometimes extremely unfair to teachers.

If you or a loved one faces an accusation or charge of a teacher-student sex crime, contact an experienced, knowledgeable and skilled sex crime defense lawyer at the Neal Davis Law Firm in Houston today. Your reputation and your freedom are too important to delay.

We understand that not all of those who are accused are guilty. Perhaps a disgruntled student accused a teacher of an offense as a means of revenge for getting bad grades. Or a student may have tried to initiate a sexual relationship with a teacher and was spurned, sparking retaliation.

In any event, you must protect your legal rights. Contact us today to arrange a private consultation for your case.

Related Resources

  • Female Teachers Are Being Charged With Sex Crimes
    Female Teachers Are Being Charged With Sex Crimes
  • Student-Teacher Relationships Can Be a Legal Minefield
    Student-Teacher Relationships Can Be a Legal Minefield
  • Investigation Shows That More Texas Teachers Are Having Sex With Students
    Investigation Shows That More Texas Teachers Are Having Sex…

Learn More About Sex Crime Defense


Overview of Sex Crime Defense
Child Sex Offenses
Child Pornography Possession Defenses
Online Solicitation of a Child
Texas Sex Crime Law
Indecency with a Child by Contact
Indecency with a Child by Exposure
Aggravated Child Sex Abuse
Child Molestation Defense
Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child
Improper Teacher / Student Relationships
Hiring a Sexual Assault Defense Lawyer
Sexual Assault of a Child (Statutory Rape)
Title IX Defense & Campus Sexual Assault
5-star review image
He is not one to back down from a fight
Drug Offenses  |  Houston
Client's drug case was dismissed
2016-06-28
"Neal is a great attorney! The man is a class act, a gentleman, and an attorney who truly ..."
T.H., Verified Customer
5-star review image
He handled my assault case
Assault  |  Houston
Assault case was dismissed
2014-01-02
"He's the best lawyer in Houston. [...] Thank you, Mr. Davis. "
I.A., Verified Customer
5-star review image
Drug Case Dismissed
Drug Offenses  |  Houston
Clien'ts drug case dismissed
2014-11-08
"My girlfriend and I got into some trouble, and I contacted Mr. Davis. He began to work on ..."
A.R., Verified Customer

Categories

  • Child Pornography & Online Solicitation
  • Community
  • Criminal Defense
  • Drug Crimes
  • Federal Crimes
  • Firm News
  • Intoxication Offenses
  • Sex Crimes
  • Violent Crimes
  • White Collar Crime

Search

Child Sex Offenses: Houston Sex Crime Defense

FREE E-BOOK

Learn all about the legal process and your legal rights.

Get Your Free Copy Now

Board Certified, Criminal Law – Texas Board of Legal Specialization (2009-2021), AV Rated by Martindale Hubbell (2015), and listed as a Best Lawyer in America (2015-2022)

He doesn't give up, no matter what you're up against
M.F.
5-star review image
Got my life back
K.W.
5-star review image
Muy satisfechos con su trabajo
Tia de J.C.
5-star review image

Read All Reviews

    Contact Our Law Firm




    We respect your privacy. The use of this form does not establish an attorney-client relationship.

    Address
    Neal Davis Law Firm
    The Heights Boulevard Law Building
    1545 Heights Blvd., Suite 700
    Houston, TX 77008

    Map

    Call 24/7
    (713) 227-4444

    Office Hours
    Monday - Saturday
    8:00 AM to 6:00 PM

    Sunday: Closed


    Experienced Criminal Defense Law Firm in Texas

    While based in Houston, our law firm provides knowledgeable representation and comprehensive legal services for individuals throughout Texas, including:


    Location

    Harris County:

    Houston, Pasadena, Baytown

    Montgomery County:

    Conroe, The WoodlandsWillis, Pinehurst

    Fort Bend County:

    Sugar Land, Richmond, Needville, Cinco Ranch


    Your Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer: Neal Davis


    A principle of the American criminal justice system is that all defendants are "innocent until proven guilty." Houston criminal defense attorney Neal Davis and his skilled legal team represent individuals accused of committing crimes. For over 20 years, Neal Davis has successfully defended clients in Texas and federal courts in all types of criminal matters at all phases, from state misdemeanors to complex federal matters. Often, he has favorably resolved criminal cases quickly and quietly, without the need for trial.


    The Neal Davis Law Firm defends the rights of individuals charged with all types of state crimes, including drug offenses , child sex crimes, online solicitation of a minor , child pornography, DWI and intoxication manslaughter, fraud and theft, assault and family violence, and murder and homicide, as well as all types of federal crimes.


    Board Certified, Criminal Law – Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Serving all of counties and federal courts across Texas, including Harris County (Houston), Montgomery County (Conroe), Galveston County and Fort Bend County (Richmond). Enjuris Texas personal injury guide

    © 2023 Neal Davis Law Firm, PLLC. All rights reserved. Law Firm Online Marketing by SEO Advantage, Inc.


    Legal Information

    The information and materials on this website are provided for general informational purposes only, and are not intended to be legal advice. We attempt to provide quality information, but the law changes frequently, and varies from place to place. The information and materials provided are general in nature, and may not apply to a specific factual or legal circumstance. An attorney and client relationship should not be implied. Nothing on this website is intended to substitute for the advice of an attorney; therefore, if you require legal advice, please consult with a competent attorney licensed to practice in your jurisdiction. Every case is different and individual results may vary depending on the facts of a case.