A Cypress Christian School coach fired in April for “inappropriate” communications with an underage former student was indicted by a Georgia grand jury for sexually grooming the boy online.
Families believe the coach has been targeting male students for years while working at private schools in Texas and other states, but changed jobs frequently and was never reported.
Jared Randall Barber was indicted on August 18 on three criminal counts: Grooming of a Minor (felony), Criminal Attempt to Commit Grooming of a Minor (felony), and Electronically Furnishing Obscene Material to Minors (misdemeanor).
The charges were filed in Georgia where the student now lives.
The indictment states that sexual communications between Barber and the boy took place between July 2024 and April 2026, while Barber was working as a secondary school teacher and coach at Cypress Christian School in the Houston area.
According to the indictment, Barber engaged in a “pattern” of sexual communication with a minor under the age of 18, using an electronic device, to “persuade and induce said child to engage in a sexual offense.”
The indictment accuses Barber of sending the boy messages discussing the child’s penis size, masturbation, and penile erections. Jurors also accused Barber of sending the boy “obscene” material containing “explicit verbal descriptions” of masturbation and sexual conduct.
CCS President Jeff Potts notified families on April 30 that Barber had been caught communicating with “a minor who is a former CCS student living out of the area,” and that the coach had been immediately terminated.
On Saturday, August 22, the school sent Cypress Christian families an unsigned “update regarding Jared Barber” notifying them of Barber’s indictment.
The update stated that Barber had “not been permitted on the campus or at any school activity since his removal, and that will not change.”
“The school continues to fully cooperate with law enforcement in Georgia and Texas during the investigation. Because this is an ongoing criminal matter, we will not speculate about the evidence or the outcome of the proceedings,” the school’s statement added.
Parents were directed to contact Corlischa Badenhorst, director of family and student care, if their child was “affected by this news or would benefit from additional support.” Badenhorst, who also operates a private counseling practice, was a CCS board member at the time of Barber’s alleged crimes.
Prior to Barber’s indictment, the CCS Board of Directors sent families an update ahead of the new school year.
In the update, the board revealed that Kris Hogan—the school’s director of culture and former athletic director and head football coach—is on paid administrative leave while a third party investigates “concerns” raised over the summer.
The board also said it was engaging “two nationally respected organizations” to conduct reviews of the schools policies, procedures, and student safety practices.
“These reviews are designed to ensure our systems reflect current best practices and identify opportunities to strengthen safeguards, reporting processes, training and accountability,” the board update stated. “Our priority is the well-being and safety of the entire Cypress Christian School community.”
Texas Scorecard has not yet learned if Barber has been taken into custody.
CCS families say Barber was assigned to travel on overnight trips with student athletes and frequently sent text messages to the boys, even on weekends.
Barber previously taught/coached at several private and Christian schools in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi prior to joining CCS in 2023.
His previous job was as a teacher and coach at Fort Worth Christian School in North Richland Hills (2020-2023). Before that, Barber was a head football coach at Lee Academy in Mississippi (2019-2020) and Riverdale Academy in Louisiana (2018), and a Bible teacher and coach at Dallas Christian School (2017-2018).
Barber’s earlier teaching/coaching jobs included Grapevine Faith Christian School and homeschool programs in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Both Potts and Hogan appear to have worked with each other and Barber at Grapevine Faith.
Potts’ LinkedIn page shows he was an administrator at Grapevine Faith from 1999 through 2015.
Hogan, who is also a motivational coach and speaker, worked for Grapevine Faith as head football coach and in “numerous leadership support roles” for 17 years, until 2020.
Barber does not hold a Texas teaching certificate and is not on the state’s Do Not Hire Registry.
In the past few years, hundreds of Texas public and private school employees have been accused of sex crimes involving students and other children.
