A Central Texas school district employee now faces three felony charges for allegedly sexually abusing a female student for 10 months starting when the girl was 13 years old, and authorities say he may have more victims.
William Anthony Blackburn Sr., 47, was arrested on September 29 by Bell County Sheriff’s Office deputies and charged with displaying harmful material to a minor, a Class A misdemeanor.
He has since been charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony; indecency with a child by sexual contact, a second-degree felony; and indecency with a child by exposure, a third-degree felony.
Blackburn worked for Academy Independent School District as a maintenance worker and bus driver starting in 2020. The district fired Blackburn on September 30.
The victim, who is now 14, told investigators Blackburn began sexually abusing her in December 2024, according to arrest affidavits reported by KWTX.
The abuse allegedly included sexual conversations, touching, and digital penetration while on Blackburn’s bus. The girl told authorities she would sometimes skip “practice” after school and instead ride with Blackburn on his bus route.
The abuse continued through the end of September 2025. The victim revealed Blackburn’s abuse to an adult relative on September 28, after a bus passenger overheard a “sexual conversation” between the student and the driver and reported it to the girl’s relative, who confronted the girl.
Blackburn was booked into the Bell County Jail on September 29. Additional charges were filed on October 1. The total bond amount for all four charges is $560,000.
During a press conference held by the Bell County Sheriff’s Office, Sgt. Corey Powell said Blackburn had “no criminal history before our arrest.”
Powell said his office is “still investigating” and there may be more charges—and more victims.
He said investigators have identified additional witnesses, obtained more search warrants, and talked to another potential victim. He also urged Academy ISD parents whose students may have had contact with Blackburn to talk with their kids immediately.
“We ask that you have a conversation with your children and make sure that no harm has come to them,” said Powell.
He said children are often victims of grooming by adults who lure them into sexual situations they may not know how to report or escape.
Powell also praised the cooperation of Academy ISD administrators.
“We notified, they suspended. We arrested him, they fired him. We wanted evidence, they gave it to us,” he said. “And they gave us the evidence that we were asking for not in days, but in basically an hour. They provided that to us, so they’ve been great.”
In a message to the Academy ISD community, Assistant Superintendent Calvin Itz stated that the district had reported Blackburn to Child Protective Services and the Texas Education Agency, “in accordance with Board policy and state law.”
Additionally, Academy ISD does extensive background checks on all school employees, consistent with state law and the District’s absolute commitment to ensuring a safe environment for all students and staff. Nothing in this employee’s background checks revealed any history or incidents of inappropriate conduct toward students. However, the strengthening of the reporting requirements to the TEA investigation division has greatly improved the ability of schools to learn of such allegations, even for uncertified employees, such as this one.
“The safety and wellbeing of students remains our top priority,” added Itz.
Blackburn is among hundreds of Texas school employees accused of sex crimes involving students and other children in just the past few years. Thousands have been reported to the TEA for educator sexual misconduct.
No ads. No paywalls. No government grants. No corporate masters.
Just real news for real Texans.
Support Texas Scorecard to keep it that way!
