A former teacher of the year in Texas was charged with sexually abusing a child that dated back to 2007.
Authorities in Clute, Texas confirmed that Brandyn Hargrove, a high school teacher, was indicted on 12 different counts, including six counts of sexual assault of a child.
Hargrove was arrested in December after a former student went to police and claimed she had been in a relationship with her former teacher beginning when she was 15 years old and that the alleged abuse continued over two years.
The student, who is now in her thirties, told authorities that the relationship occurred off school campus, but happened while Hargrove was a teacher.
A statement released by the Brazosport school district, where Hargrove teaches, said that she has been placed on administrative leave as a result of the charges.
School parents said Hargrove was a former teacher of the year and was well-known at the school.
“Unfortunately, this happens more and more these days,” Clute police Chief James Fitch said. “Since that time we have other laws in effect, the improper relationship between educator and student was not in effect back then. But your kids go to school and you trust the teachers with that and then these types of things happen.”
Hargrove has also been charged with four counts of indecency with a child by contact, and two counts of indecency with a child by exposure.
Hargrove has since been released on bond and through her attorney declined to comment. It is not immediately clear if she has entered a plea.
