Police arrested an East Texas teacher on multiple felony charges of sexually abusing a special education student after receiving an anonymous tip.
Jeffery Parker, 63, was arrested Thursday and charged with continuous sexual abuse of a disabled person and three counts of improper relationship between educator and student.
Parker is a special education teacher at Pleasant Grove High School in the Pleasant Grove Independent School District near Texarkana.
Parker was arrested in Cass County by the Texas Department of Public Safety on warrants issued by the Texarkana, Texas Police Department, according to a statement issued by TTPD.
PGISD Police Chief Jake Klar notified our department on Monday after receiving an anonymous tip. Following an investigation, Detective Tabitha Smith developed evidence supporting the allegations and obtained warrants for Parker’s arrest.
Parker is currently being held in the Cass County Jail but is expected to be transferred to the Bi-State Jail in the coming days.
Texarkana Police said the investigation remains active and ongoing.
Pleasant Grove ISD stated that Parker was removed from campus and will not return.
“The safety and well-being of our students is our highest priority,” the district stated. “We want our students, families and community to know that we take allegations of this nature with the utmost seriousness, and we will continue to support our students and families during this time.”
Online records show Parker has worked for Pleasant Grove ISD since the 2019-2020 school year. Parker has held a Texas teaching certificate for special education since 2014.
Pleasant Grove ISD is a four-school district with about 2,400 students and 300 employees, including 170 teachers.
Over the past few years, hundreds of Texas school employees have been accused of sex crimes involving students and other children, and thousands have been reported to the Texas Education Agency for sexual misconduct.
Texas Scorecard maintains a map of known educator misconduct arrests.
