An East Texas middle school coach is accused of sexually assaulting a minor.
Landon Christopher Odom, 26, was arrested and charged with sexual assault of a child.
Odom was hired in July 2025 as a history teacher and assistant baseball coach at Central Heights Middle School in Central Heights Independent School District, which is located in Nacogdoches.
According to Superintendent Justin Keeling, the alleged assault did not involve a CHISD student or occur on a district campus.
Keeling reportedly stated that the district placed Odom on leave within two hours of being notified of the allegations.
The Panola County Sheriff’s Office led the investigation and arrested Odom, who lives in Gary City.
Odom was booked into the Panola County Jail on November 21 and released the same day on a $100,000 bond.
The sheriff’s office is continuing to investigate.
Odom graduated from Gary High School in 2018, where he played varsity baseball and basketball. He also played baseball at Oral Roberts University (2018-2021) and Lamar University (2021-2023).
He was certified as a teaching intern in August 2024, then received a certificate to teach 4th-8th grade social studies in August 2025. His certification is currently under review by the Texas Education Agency.
According to Odom’s LinkedIn page, he taught history in Whitehouse ISD in the 2023-24 school year, then worked as a history teacher and coach for Joaquin ISD from May 2024-June 2025.
In October 2025, after joining Central Heights ISD, Odom posted to Facebook that he was offering pitching lessons.
Odom is among hundreds of Texas educators accused of sex crimes involving students and other children in just the past few years. Thousands have been reported to the TEA for sexual misconduct.
