A Dallas-area substitute teacher is accused of sodomizing a student, and local parents say the school district never notified them of the allegations, even after the suspect was arrested.
Bryson Lanier Newton, 23, was arrested in March and charged with sexual assault of a child and improper relationship between educator and student. Both are second-degree felonies punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison.
His arrest record identifies the sexual assault as “sodomy.”
Newton was a substitute teacher in DeSoto Independent School District.
The alleged assault took place in November 2024, when Newton was teaching at Ruby Young Talented and Gifted Academy (formerly Ruby Young Elementary), a D-rated school serving students in kindergarten through 8th grade.
According to an arrest report obtained by WFAA, Newton flagged down a DeSoto police officer on March 18 and said he wanted to turn himself in.
Newton was arrested by the DeSoto Police Department and booked into jail on March 18.
He was released the next day on a total of $75,000 in bonds—$25,000 for the improper relationship charge and $50,000 for the sexual assault of a child charge.
Newton’s arrest came to light in a video posted to social media on June 9 by Deputy Bryan Woodard, a former Dallas County constable.
Woodard said he learned about the teacher’s alleged crimes from concerned parents and school employees who were upset that DeSoto ISD officials had kept quiet about Newton.
“Why didn’t y’all say anything to the parents?” asked Woodard. “I’m furious and my child doesn’t even go to that school.”
He said Newton sodomized a student at Ruby Young last November, and DeSoto police were notified a month later in December.
“Three months later, in March 2025, they arrest him,” said Woodard.
He said parents suspected school officials hushed up the sexual assault allegations against Newton because the district wanted to pass a bond on the May ballot.
Woodard also alleged that Ruby Young Principal Xavier Lewis, who was selected by school trustees to head the school in July 2024, “allowed all of the staff members who were around at that time” to retire.
“They could have said something, I think they could have said something to these parents … the principal allowed all of them to retire,” he said.
“So parents, if you have a child that goes there and you didn’t know about this, now you know,” added Woodard.
In a follow-up post on June 10, Woodard said he talked to former school employees “who were afraid to speak out and they mentioned that others in charge knew what happened but covered it up.”
He urged parents of Ruby Young students to talk with their kids and ask if they had any contact with Newton.
District officials indicated in a statement that DeSoto ISD was notified in December 2024 of an alleged “inappropriate incident” involving Newton and “immediately” removed him from all assignments and banned him from returning to any district campus.
“In alignment with our legal and ethical obligations, the district filed all required reports,” DeSoto ISD stated. “These steps reflect our zero-tolerance stance on any misconduct involving students and our steadfast partnership with investigative authorities to ensure accountability to the fullest extent of the law.”
State records show Newton does not hold a Texas teaching certificate. He is listed as “under investigation” on the state’s Do Not Hire Registry of people ineligible to work in a public school.
Hundreds of Texas teachers and school employees have been accused of sex crimes involving students and other children in just the past few years.
Thousands of cases of educator sexual misconduct have been reported to the state since the TEA began keeping organized records in 2021.
