TOMBALL, Texas — A former teacher at a Texas school that serves fifth- and sixth-graders is accused of sexually abusing a former student for up to three years, multiple news outlets are reporting.
According to KRIV and KPRC, former Tomball Intermediate School teacher Marka Lee Bodine, 31, was arrested Saturday on a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, Tomball police said. She was released from the Harris County Jail after posting $100,000 bond, the outlets reported.
The victim told police that he and Bodine began exchanging texts after they played a video game together online, KPRC reported, citing an arrest affidavit. He said they later sent each other sexually explicit photos and began having sex when he was 13, the affidavit said. The sexual abuse, which included encounters in Bodine’s car and classroom, continued for up to three years, he said.
The affidavit said Bodine, who originally told the school’s principal that a former student had obtained private photos of her and was harassing her, later confessed that she’d had a sexual relationship with the boy and exchanged explicit photos with him, according to KPRC.
The Tomball Independent School District said in a statement that it “immediately began an administrative investigation” as soon as it learned of “an allegation of an inappropriate relationship isolated between a teacher and a former student who does not currently attend Tomball ISD schools.”
“The employee was then placed on administrative leave, resigned and is no longer employed with Tomball ISD,” the statement read.
The district said Tomball police and Children’s Protective Services “were notified immediately” and are investigating the allegations.
“The safety of our students in Tomball ISD is our No. 1 priority, and any substantiated allegations of employee misconduct will not be tolerated,” the statement continued. “The district will be providing the appropriate social-emotional support to students and staff; we ask that the media and public respect the safety and privacy of the campus community.”