A Central Texas teacher pleaded guilty to having sex with underage boys, but prosecutors are recommending that she serve no jail time.
Shelby Dawn Lashombe was a high school teacher and coach in the Valley Mills Independent School District when allegations arose in August 2025. She was arrested and resigned in September 2025.
Lashombe admitted to sexually assaulting two boys she knew were under the age of 17, the legal age of consent in Texas. The boys were students in two other school districts.
The teacher was charged with two counts each of sexual assault of a child (the legal term for rape in Texas) and improper relationship between educator and student. Both are second-degree felonies punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison.
Lashombe pleaded guilty last week to the two counts of improper relationship. In exchange, the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office dismissed the sexual assault charges.
According to a report by KWTX, prosecutors recommended that 19th District Court Judge Thomas West sentence Lashombe to deferred adjudication probation and a $1,000 fine. The improper relationship offense does not require sex offender registration.
The judge will consider findings of a pre-sentence investigation before deciding whether to accept the plea deal.
Sentencing is set for June 26.
Lashombe received a Texas teaching certificate in 2023. She permanently surrendered her certificate in January 2026.
She started teaching at Valley Mills High School in July 2025. In 2024, Lashombe worked for West ISD, where one of the targeted boys attended high school.
Educator misconduct reporting data published by the Open Records Project shows that West ISD reported Lashombe in February 2024 for an improper relationship with a student or minor, but the Texas Education Agency did not open a formal investigation.
Lashombe is among hundreds of Texas educators accused of sex crimes involving students and other children in just the past few years.
Thousands of educator sexual misconduct complaints have been reported to the TEA since the agency began keeping organized records in 2021.
