A Wylie school administrator accused of sex crimes involving female students may also face federal charges.
Zachary Christian Neu, 32, was arrested June 4 by the Wylie Police Department after an investigation into allegations that he was sexually grooming girls via social media.
Neu, who is married, was an assistant principal at Wylie East High School in the Wylie Independent School District at the time of his arrest. He worked for the district since 2017.
The school administrator’s alleged two targets were Wylie East students, one a recent graduate.
Neu was booked into the Collin County Jail on June 5 and charged with solicitation of prostitution of a person under 18 years of age and improper relationship between educator and student. Both are second-degree felonies punishable by two to 20 years in prison. Bond was set at $1.5 million—$750,000 for each charge.
Since then, U.S. Marshals placed a federal detainer on Neu. The request to hold Neu suggests federal criminal charges may be pending against him, although no charges currently appear in federal court records.
Arrest affidavits reveal new details behind Neu’s charges.
The first charge, solicitation of prostitution, stemmed from a report that Neu had sent sexual messages to a 17-year-old Wylie East student “not even 20 minutes after she walked out of the building from graduating,” suggesting they meet up and shower together.
She first reported the incident to a coach, who advised the girl to contact Wylie PD and also notified a school resource officer.
The girl told police Neu had followed her on Instagram after graduation, then switched to messaging her on Snapchat. She let police access the accounts and assume her identity to communicate with Neu.
According to the affidavit, Neu told the girl she was his “favorite student” but said they needed to keep that a secret. When she agreed, he replied, “Good, I figured I could trust you.”
Another time Neu asked the girl to meet him at school, where he was in his office. “We can be sneaky,” he messaged.
The girl told Neu she was not yet 18, but Neu persisted in his sexual pursuit.
When she asked, “what about your wife?” Neu replied, “We are rocky and going through the motions sense [sic] we have a 2 and a half year old.”
Police said Neu sent the girl pictures of himself shirtless, again suggested showering together, and talked about having sex with her. Neu also allegedly told the girl his wife and young daughter would be out of town and invited her to spend the night at his house.
The school administrator’s alleged offer to buy alcohol for the underage girl and give his “favorite student” $20 to buy lingerie for a sexual encounter triggered the charge of soliciting prostitution.
The second charge, improper relationship, involved a Wylie East student who will be a senior next school year.
The girl’s mother reportedly contacted authorities after Wylie PD announced Neu’s arrest.
The student told police Neu started messaging her in March via TikTok and text. Neu allegedly sent her pictures of himself in his underwear, and she sent him photos of herself in a bra and panties.
The girl said she and Neu met up on May 13, in the parking lot of an L.A. Fitness in Sachse, where he allegedly kissed and groped her.
She said Neu had continued messaging her up until June 3, overlapping the dates he was also messaging the girl who first reported him.
Police said a search of Neu’s devices revealed evidence of the allegations.
Neu’s teaching certificate is currently under review by the Texas Education Agency. Under a state law passed last year, Neu’s arrest may trigger a temporary suspension of his certification.
Neu is among hundreds of Texas school employees accused of sex crimes involving students and/or minors in just the past few years. Thousands have been reported to the TEA for sexual misconduct.
The TEA’s Educator Misconduct Reporting Dashboard shows that the agency is currently investigating more than 2,000 sexual misconduct complaints and opening an average of 250 new cases each month.
