While most educators look forward to summer vacation, the end of the school year brings sexual misconduct allegations, arrests, and charges for some Texas teachers.
West Texas high school teacher and coach Charles Ray Fulmer admitted to a sexual relationship with a ninth grade female student in 2017. On Wednesday, Fulmer, 44, appeared before U.S. magistrate Judge D. Gordon Bryant in Lubbock’s federal court. He pleaded guilty to a felony count of the attempted transfer of obscene materials to a minor as part of a plea agreement.
Until last year, Fulmer taught in the Spur Independent School District. The purported victim’s mother suspected something was up and confronted her daughter. This led to the discovery of telling text messages between the then 15-year-old and the teacher. The parents contacted school officials which prompted an investigation by the Texas Rangers. The state law enforcement agency looked into the claims that Fulmer had sex with the girl. He also coached her in several sports. She and her family lived in the same neighborhood as the teacher, who was married. The alleged victim was friends with his daughter.
Amid the April 2017 investigation, Spur ISD Acting Superintendent Craig Hamilton released a statement advising that the district placed Fulmer on administrative leave. He said Spur ISD reported the allegations of educator misconduct to the Texas Education Agency and the “appropriate state and local child protective and law enforcement agencies.” Soon thereafter Fulmer resigned.
The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported that a forensic search of Fulmer’s cell phone uncovered a pornographic image of a man and a woman having sexual intercourse. Allegedly, the teacher tried to text it to the girl. Other messaging between the two indicated they had sex during spring break in March 2017. They also revealed Fulmer had strong feelings for the girl and said he wanted to marry her when she became an adult.
At the time, the state charged him with the sexual assault of a child, a second degree felony. They set his bond at $150,000. However, on April 11, 2018, a federal grand jury indicted Fulmer on one felony count of enticement of a minor. It carries a punishment of 10 years to life in prison, but if the sentencing judge accepts his plea deal, the government will dismiss that charge. Then, Fulmer would only face up to 10 years in prison. Upon completion of his sentence he will be required to register as a sex offender.
In North Texas, Dallas ISD middle school teacher Kyle Tyson bonded out of the Dallas County jail last week on $100,000 bail after being charged with sexual assault and improper relationship with a 14-year-old female student.
Tyson, 31, was a math teacher at Lang Middle School. The purported sexual misconduct happened between December 2016 and January 2017. However, the alleged victim’s mother only learned of the affair in May 2018 when her daughter divulged she and Tyson had sex in his car. The parent then reported this information to Dallas police and Child Protective Services.
During the subsequent investigation, the girl told detectives that Tyson was her eighth grade math teacher during the time of the sexual encounters. She accused him of flirting with her in class and saying sexual things to her. WFAA reported the girl claimed Tyson “put his hands underneath her clothing and touched her breasts” while she was in his classroom between periods, according to police records. She said he told her to touch his genitals over his clothes during tutoring sessions.
The inappropriate dalliance intensified in late December 2016. The teen said Tyson came to the family’s Dallas apartment and told the girl to come to his car, where, allegedly, they had sex. She said the suspect told her they needed to make this sexual activity “a once a month thing” and told her not to tell anyone because he “wanted her and no one else needed to know.” According to the warrant, they had sex twice.
The girl later entered ninth grade at a different school. Reportedly, the suspect texted her. She told him about her new male friend. He was not pleased.
On May 16, Tyson was arrested. The conditions of his bond require he wear a GPS ankle monitor; it also precludes him from contacting the victim or have any interactions with minors, according to The Dallas Morning News.
A Dallas ISD spokeswoman confirmed to Breitbart Texas they placed Tyson on administrative leave on May 8 after receiving the initial complaint.
In the Houston area, Hamilton Middle School teacher Justin Washington was charged with having an improper relationship with a female high school student. In fact, the alleged victim accused Washington, 26, of giving her drugs and a sexually transmitted disease, according to the Houston Chronicle. Court documents stated he took the student to motels and his apartment for sex.
Washington taught in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD until the allegations emerged. Then, he resigned. In a police interview, he admitted he met with the student four or five times, describing their relationship as a “fling.” Investigators asked him if he knew that teachers could not have sexual encounters with students. Apparently, he responded: “I do understand that.”
Police arrested and booked Washington into the Harris County jail on May 16. They set his bail at $10,000.
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