A Baptist school’s band director was arrested for sex crimes involving a student he had pulled out of class for “private lessons” starting when the girl was 12 years old, and police believe he may have more victims.
Stephen Charles Strawn, 50, faces two felony charges: indecency with a child by sexual contact and child grooming.
Strawn was arrested and booked into the Bexar County Jail on March 26 and later released on bonds totaling $125,000.
At the time of his arrest, Strawn was a band teacher at First Baptist Academy of Universal City, a private Christian school located northeast of San Antonio.
According to investigators, Strawn allegedly began grooming the targeted student last November by removing her from classes multiple times for unauthorized private lessons. He later asked her to model flag team uniforms for him in his band hall office, even though she was not on the flag team.
Strawn then made sexual contact with the girl while ostensibly taking measurements and photographed her wearing risqué clothing he had purchased.
In a press conference, Universal City Police Department officers said they began investigating the allegations on March 18 after receiving a report from Child Protective Services.
Police said a friend told the girl’s parents what was happening, and they notified CPS.
Ryan Gilbert, Lead Pastor of First Baptist Church of Universal City, stated that CPS visited the school on March 16 in response to Strawn’s alleged inappropriate conduct with the girl.
“Prior to this visit, church and school leadership had not been made aware of the report or the alleged incident,” wrote Gilbert.
Upon notification, the employee was immediately placed on administrative leave. The individual is no longer serving on campus. The church and academy are fully cooperating with law enforcement and Child Protective Services and are committed to supporting a thorough and transparent investigative process.
“The safety and well-being of our students remain our highest priority,” added Gilbert.
Investigators cautioned there may be more victims, as Strawn admitted to doing the same thing to another student two years prior. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Daniel Carmona with the Universal City Police Department at 210-658-5353.
Online records show Strawn taught in Judson ISD in 2015. He’s reportedly worked for First Baptist Academy for several years.
Strawn was certified to teach music in 2010. His certificate has an expiration date of 2016 but is currently shown as “inactive.” His certification is under review by the Texas Education Agency.
Over the past few years, hundreds of Texas school employees have been accused of sex crimes involving students and other minors—including band teachers/directors in Palestine ISD, Keller ISD, Austin ISD, Dallas ISD, Wall ISD, Copperas Cove ISD, Judson ISD, Krum ISD, Texarkana ISD, Lancaster ISD, Cedar Hill ISD, Killeen ISD, Harper ISD, Lampasas ISD, Abilene ISD, Channelview ISD, Crosby ISD, and Shallowater ISD.
Thousands of school employees have been reported to the TEA for sexual misconduct.
