The Harris County District Attorney’s Office has dismissed criminal charges against a former Klein Independent School District cosmetology teacher who had been accused of recruiting students into a sex trafficking operation involving her adult son.
According to a motion filed Friday, prosecutors said they could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Kedria Grigsby, 42, knew of or participated in her son’s trafficking activities. As a result, the state moved to dismiss all charges against her. The case could be refiled if new evidence emerges.
Grigsby had been charged in April 2024 with three counts of trafficking of children and three counts of compelling prostitution of a minor, each a first degree felony. At the time of her arrest, she was teaching cosmetology at Klein Cain High School.
Her son, Roger Magee, pleaded guilty in a separate case and was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for trafficking a child.
As previously reported, investigators alleged that Grigsby helped her son target vulnerable teenage girls, ages 15, 16, and 17, who were reported runaways and students at local high schools. Law enforcement claimed the girls were offered a place to stay at hotels before being forced into prostitution.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez previously stated that additional victims had come forward, alleging Grigsby attempted to recruit them while they were still attending school. Court documents filed at the time accused Grigsby of assisting with hotel arrangements and managing proceeds connected to the alleged prostitution enterprise.
Following her arrest, Grigsby was initially held on a total bond of $750,000, which was later reduced to $450,000. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation also issued an emergency suspension of her cosmetology license, citing concerns about access to minors.
During Friday’s hearing, the state formally requested dismissal of the case. “The state respectfully requests the court to dismiss,” a prosecutor said in open court.
Despite the dismissal of criminal charges, civil litigation tied to the case remains active.
Multiple federal lawsuits have been filed against Grigsby and Klein ISD. One of those suits was brought by Desma Darden, a former special education teacher, who allegedly warned school administrators months before Grigsby’s arrest that her teenage daughter had been trafficked by Grigsby and Magee.
In December, a Texas judge denied Klein ISD’s request to be dismissed from that lawsuit. The district has denied wrongdoing but previously stated it was “disgusted” by the allegations and pledged to address the matter directly.
The decision not to take the case to trial drew criticism from attorneys representing alleged victims. Civil rights attorney Harry Daniels said he was shocked by the dismissal.
“It was shocking that this amount of evidence that the Harris County District Attorney’s Office had in order to secure an indictment from a grand jury is now being found insufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” Daniels said.
Prosecutors emphasized that the dismissal of charges against Grigsby does not amount to a declaration of innocence. The district attorney’s office reiterated that charges could be refiled if further evidence becomes available.
Magee remains incarcerated, and no charges have been filed against any alleged clients connected to the case.
