A now-former middle school teacher accused of having sex with underage students has been arrested and charged with multiple felonies.
Reginald Van Long, 27, was arrested earlier this month and charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child 14-17 years of age, one count of improper relationship with a student, and one count of online solicitation of a minor younger than 14.
All are second-degree felonies punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison.
Long’s alleged sex crimes began while he worked at the Academy of Accelerated Learning, a charter school in Houston for students in pre-K through 8th grade, during the 2022-2023 school year.
Several students reportedly told authorities that Long used the Instagram app to send them sexually explicit messages and initiate sexual contact.
One girl claimed that when she was 12 years old, Long sent her a message saying he wanted to kidnap her because he didn’t want to wait for her to turn 18. He also allegedly asked her for nude photos and wanted her to sneak out of a school event to have sex with him.
Another girl told investigators her Instagram chats with Long started when she was 14 and led to multiple sexual encounters from December 2022 through October 2023. Long allegedly had sex with the victim in his car and in her bedroom, which he would enter through a window.
According to authorities, Long admitted to the incidents. He also allegedly confessed to sending sexual Instagram messages to several other students at the school.
The state’s Do Not Hire Registry shows Long is under investigation by the Texas Education Agency. Long’s state-issued certificate as an educational aide expired in 2020.
The state filed charges against Long on February 29 in Harris County where the alleged crimes took place.
Long was arrested in Tyler by Texas Department of Public Safety officers and booked into Smith County Jail on March 1.
On March 14, Long was transferred to Harris County Jail, where he is being held on bonds totaling $600,000. He was scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
Texas Scorecard has reported on dozens of Texas teachers charged with sex crimes involving students.
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