A now-former Texas teacher at an all-girls school in Grand Prairie was sentenced to 15 years in prison for sex crimes against a 16-year-old student.
Matthew Ramos, 34, pleaded guilty in July to improper relationship between educator and student, a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison, and online solicitation of a minor, a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison.
Ramos was a middle school teacher at the Young Women’s Leadership Academy at Arnold in Grand Prairie Independent School District.
Court documents said Ramos began communicating with a former student at the school in 2021 when the girl was 16.
He sent her explicit text messages, and they exchanged nude photos.
In October 2021, students began gossiping about the relationship, prompting school administrators to investigate and notify authorities.
Ramos initially denied any relationship with the high school student but later told law enforcement he was in love with the girl and had given her a promise ring.
He also reportedly showed officers a tattoo on his arm that symbolized his relationship with the teenage victim.
Detectives found explicit messages and photos exchanged by the teacher and the underage student on Ramos’s phone, which led to the online solicitation of a minor charge.
Officers also found a text from Ramos telling the student he wanted to bring a gun to school to take care of the girls who told administrators about their relationship.
This month, a district court judge in Ellis County sentenced Ramos to 15 years for the improper relationship charge and 10 years for online solicitation. The prison sentences will run concurrently.
The district attorney said, “Our office and the Court made clear by this verdict that those who would twist their responsibility to protect children into a sexual perversion will be punished and sent to a place where they do not have access to potential child victims.”
In the past year, two other Grand Prairie ISD teachers have been charged with sexual misconduct involving students.
Teacher and football coach Kenrick Burns was arrested last December and charged with having an improper “intimate relationship” with an 18-year-old female student.
South Grand Prairie High School teacher Cody Bush was arrested in March and also charged with improper relationship between educator and student.
Texas Penal Code defines an “improper relationship” as a primary or secondary school employee engaging in sexual contact or sexually explicit communication with a student.
Texas Scorecard has reported on dozens of Texas educators accused of sex crimes involving students.
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