Latest news with #Ex-Texas
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
Former Pflugerville High School employee sent sexual messages to student, police say
A former Pflugerville High School employee was charged in connection to sending sexually explicit social media messages to a male student, police said. Marissa Juarez, 27, was charged with online solicitation of a minor, a third-degree felony. It is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Juarez was an administrative assistant at the school, according to an arrest affidavit released on Tuesday. Her last day of work at the school was April 28, said Tamra Spence, a district spokeswoman. Spence would not say whether Juarez had been terminated or had resigned. She had worked at the district since August 2024, Spence said. Pflugerville police began investigating after a school district sergeant saw Juarez and the male student on a security camera sharing a hug and a kiss in a school parking lot, according to an arrest affidavit released on Tuesday. What is criminally negligent homicide? Texas man guilty in fatal high school stabbing The male student told police that the kiss seen on the security camera was the first one he and Juarez had ever shared and that he never communicated with her on social media, the affidavit said. He later told police he had shared one message with Juarez on Instagram about getting her a hoodie. When police interviewed the student and his mother the next day, his mother showed the investigator 55 screenshots of sexually explicit messages on Snapchat between the student and Juarez, the affidavit said. Some of the messages discussed a plan for them to have sex at the student's home while his mother was on vacation. In an interview with police, Juarez denied knowing about the Snapchat account and also denied any online communication with the male student, the affidavit said. Juarez, however, sent several messages to the male student "with photos and videos of her face which are plainly seen," according to the document. It said Jurarez also denied kissing the male student and said she didn't text or talk to him. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Ex-Texas school employee charged with online solicitation of a minor
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Yahoo
Former Texas megachurch pastor Robert Morris turns himself in amid child sex abuse charges
Former North Texas-based pastor of Gateway Church, Robert Morris, was booked and released on bond from the Osage County jail on Monday. Last week, Morris was indicted on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a minor, according to the Oklahoma Attorney General's office. Last year, Morris resigned from his post after admitting to "inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady" 35 years ago. The church removed several of its elders following a law firm's independent investigation into the allegations in November. Here's what we know about the arrest. Morris was booked into the Osage County Jail at 7:57 a.m., according to the Osage County Sheriff's office there. An arrest warrant for Morris shows his bond was set at $50,000 and he was required to surrender his passport. Morris's attorney intends to submit a not guilty plea. If found guilty, he may face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each charge. According to the Oklahoma Attorney General's office, in December 1982, Morris was a traveling evangelist visiting in Hominy, Oklahoma with the family of Cindy Clemishire, the alleged victim, who was 12 at the time. Morris was 21. The indictment alleges Morris' sexual misconduct began that Christmas and continued over the next four years. Clemishire detailed her abuse in The Wartburg Watch, a blog focusing on nefarious issues in Christian churches. The alleged abuse continued in Oklahoma and Texas until 1987, Clemishire said. According to WFAA, Cindy Clemishire said his acts have caught up with him. "After almost 43 years, the law has finally caught up with Robert Morris for the horrific crimes he committed against me as a child. Now, it is time for the legal system to hold him accountable,' she said. 'My family and I are deeply grateful to the authorities who have worked tirelessly to make this day possible and remain hopeful that justice will ultimately prevail." According to the statute of limitations for lewd or indecent acts to a child must be commenced by the 45th birthday of the alleged victim who was under 18 at the time the crime happened. However, according to the Oklahoma Attorney General's office, the statute of limitations doesn't apply here because Morris was never a resident nor lived in the state at any time. Attorney General Gentner Drummond said Morris' crimes should have been addressed long ago. "There can be no tolerance for those who sexually prey on children,' Drummond said. 'This case is all the more despicable because the alleged perpetrator was a pastor who exploited his position. The victim in this case has waited far too many years for justice to be done.' This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Ex-Texas pastor Robert Morris out on bail after turning in himself
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill introduced to protect Civil Rights landmarks
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Two members of Alabama's congressional delegation are working to protect Civil Rights landmarks. This comes after the Trump Administration put the Montgomery Greyhound Bus Station on a list of properties for sale. Congresswoman Terri Sewell and Congressman Shomari Figures introduced the Civil Rights Landmarks Protection Act in the U.S. House Wednesday. Ex-Texas megachurch pastor indicted in Oklahoma on child sex abuse charges The act prohibits the sale of all federally owned landmarks listed on the national register of historic places. 'We passed this with a specific focus on civil rights landmarks given the fact that we just had to fight a battle with the Trump administration,' said Rep. Figures. Senator Katie Britt also spoke about the listing in a statement: 'I have been in communication with the administration and this has been resolved. The Montgomery bus station and Freedom Rides Museum will not be on GSA's non-core list.' Congressman Figures believes the decision to sell the landmark should never have been up for debate. 'Some of these monuments have a painful story to tell, but it's still a story that's very worthwhile and very critical, instrumental to what ultimately came out of the Civil Rights Movement,' said Figures. The Alabama African American Civil Rights Heritage Sites Consortium is using this opportunity to teach those stories through a new virtual reality experience through an app called 20 World Changing Sites. 'You have the opportunity to actually go and visit these sites from your phone or from your computer. It's not a substitute from actually coming to Birmingham and Selma and Montgomery because that's essential but we see it as a virtual appetizer,' said Alabama African American Civil Rights Heritage Sites Consortium Executive Director Rev. Lukata Mjumbe. The experience, titled 'Three Cities: One Movement' shares information about Alabama historic places throughout the Civil Rights Movement. 'In this moment there's an opportunity for us to use technology, there's an opportunity to reach people in ways that we haven't reached them before,' said Rev. Mjumbe. The virtual experience app is available to download for free for Iphone and Android. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
