A former Austin elementary school teacher was sentenced to 71 years in prison for sexually abusing a child and possessing child sexual abuse material.
Kevin Stephen Abeyta, 54, was convicted of continuous sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony.
A jury also convicted Abeyta on six counts of possessing child pornography with intent to distribute, a second-degree felony, and 13 counts of possessing child porn, a third-degree felony.
Abeyta formerly taught art at Campbell Elementary School in Austin Independent School District.
The Hays County Sheriff’s Office began investigating Abeyta in February 2021 after a victim reported sexual abuse. That child victim was not a student, according to a statement from the Hays County Criminal District Attorney Kelly Higgins.
Investigators tracked Abeyta to Atlanta, Georgia, where he was living at that time and again teaching elementary school art.
After Abeyta was interviewed by law enforcement, he gave several hard drives to a friend.
The friend discovered they contained child sexual abuse material and notified authorities. Hays County investigators collected and reviewed the evidence.
Investigators found more than a thousand media files identified as child sexual abuse material, some including images and videos of the child victim, according to the Hays County DA.
Abeyta had also been secretly filming at least one young child under her desk at school.
Hays County District Judge Sherri Tibbe stacked the sentences handed down by the jury, which totaled 71 years in prison.
According to the DA, Abeyta is not eligible for parole on the count of continuous sexual abuse.
State records show Abeyta was certified to teach in Texas from August 2016 through September 2022. His expired certificate is currently under review by the Texas Education Agency.
Abeyta was also certified to teach in Georgia, but his certification was revoked in December 2021.
Austin ISD has not yet responded to a request for information about Abeyta’s employment history with the district.
TEA records from September 2021 through August 2024 show 22 Austin ISD educators were reported for sexual misconduct. Abeyta is not on the list, as the agency did not keep organized reporting records prior to that time.
Abeyta is among hundreds of Texas teachers and school employees accused of sex crimes involving students and other children in just the past few years.
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