A former Texas public school teacher who was arrested Saturday admitted to having had a sexual relationship with a former student, Click 2 Houston reported.
Marka Bodine, 31, was charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child, the City of Tomball announced on Twitter.
On Saturday, April 17, arrested former TISD employee, Marka Bodine, for Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child. Bodine was booked into the Harris County Jail.
If you have information pertaining to this investigation, please contact Detective David White, TPD at (281) 290-1020. pic.twitter.com/BVlerD7wcB— City of Tomball (@CityofTomball) April 19, 2021
Bodine was a teacher at Tomball Intermediate School, which serves fifth and sixth-grade students, but was placed on administrative leave after the school district learned of the allegations against her. Bodine resigned shortly after, according to ABC 13.
Former Tomball teacher, 31-y/o Marka Lee Bodine, has been arrested & charged for continuous sexual abuse of a child, a 1st-deg felony punishable by a min of 25 years in prison if convicted. The woman was a former teacher at Tomball Intermediate, a school for 5th and 6th graders. pic.twitter.com/bMQPYHIwqT
— Natalie Hee FOX 26 (@NatalieHee) April 19, 2021
Tomball is located roughly 37 miles north of Houston.
Bodine allegedly told the school’s principal that she was being harassed by a former student and that the student was threatening to hurt himself and was manipulating images of her after gaining access to her private photographs, Click 2 Houston reported.
The principal then contacted police, an affidavit reportedly said. When police searched Bodine’s and the former students’ phones, they found numerous messages and images sent between the two, some that were sexually explicit, according to Click 2 Houston.
The former student alleged that Bodine first approached him by playing video games with him before she began texting him, Click 2 Houston reported. The two had sex not long after the boy turned 13 in her classroom and car, he alleged. It’s unclear how old the former student was on those occasions, or what year Bodine approached the student.
The relationship continued for three years and Bodine allegedly moved into the former student’s apartment complex after she divorced, according to Click 2 Houston.
Bodine allegedly admitted to sending the former student sexually explicit images and videos, along with having a sexual relationship. She was booked into the Harris County Jail and was released on $100,000 bail, Click 2 Houston reported.
Tomball Independent School District said the former student was not enrolled at the district at the time of Bodine’s arrest, and that the Tomball Police Department and Children’s Protective Services are investigating the allegations, a statement said, according to Click 2 Houston.
“Any and all employee misconduct allegations are taken seriously and are investigated thoroughly and promptly. The safety of our students in Tomball ISD is our number one priority and any substantiated allegations of employee misconduct will not be tolerated,” the district said in the statement.
The district is also offering social-emotional support to students and staff. Parents also expressed their shock with reporters over the allegations.
“It’s terrifying, absolutely terrifying,” Vincent Coulter, a parent, told Click 2 Houston. “(It’s the) worst crime ever because the parents of whoever this is involved in they put their trust into that woman and now look where they’re at.”
Another parent told Click 2 Houston that allegations of teacher misconduct “outrages” her.
Tomball isn’t the only school district in Texas where teachers have been accused of sexual offenses involving minors.
Days before Bodine’s arrest, a first-grade teacher at Dallas Independent School District was charged with possession of child pornography. Investigators say they found numerous images showing an adult male engaging in sexual intercourse with children as young as three. (RELATED: First-Grade Teacher At Texas Public School Charged With Possession Of Child Pornography)
A middle school teacher at a district near Houston was also arrested Thursday on charges that he was in possession of child pornography.