A Texas teacher pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting an underage female student multiple times more than 15 years ago, but she will serve no time in prison per the terms of her plea deal.
Brandyn Martin Hargrove, 44, was a high school teacher in the Brazosport Independent School District until her arrest in December 2023.
Charges included six counts of sexual assault of a child, four counts of indecency with a child by contact, and two counts of indecency with a child by exposure.
A 12-count indictment detailed Hargrove’s sexual activities with a female Brazosport ISD student under the age of 17—the age of consent in Texas—beginning in 2007. One of the counts accuses Hargrove of assaulting the victim with a cucumber.
Hargrove waived a jury trial and pleaded guilty today to all 12 charges.
Under the terms of her plea deal, Hargrove received deferred adjudication and 10 years of probation for the 10 counts of sexual assault and indecency by contact, all second-degree felonies.
For the two counts of indecency by exposure, which are third-degree felonies, Hargrove was sentenced to 10 years in state prison, but the sentence was suspended with 10 years of probation.
Hargrove must register as a sex offender for life. Sex offenders may be prohibited from living within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, or daycares, so she may also be required to move.
Hargrove’s victim, who is now 34, was in the Brazoria County courtroom along with several supporters and was allowed to give a victim statement.
“Brandyn, I face you today as the adult who now protects the child you once exploited and betrayed,” she said, according to a report by local media outlet The Facts. “You didn’t just break boundaries. You broke a person. Today I go from victim to survivor, victim to victor.”
The victim first came forward in September 2023, revealing to police the sexual relationship that began when she was a 15-year-old student at Brazoswood High School and continued for about two years.
Texas has no statute of limitations for sexual assault of a child or indecency with a child.
The victim told the judge that today’s plea deal—with Hargrove admitting guilt in open court and hopefully no longer able to victimize other students—was the outcome she wanted.
Hargrove was fired in January 2024 from Brazoswood High School, where she had taught since 2002.
Brandyn Hargrove’s family is prominent in the school district.
She and her husband David Hargrove were founding partners in the Brazosport ISD Education Foundation.
Her father is former Lake Jackson City Councilman and Mayor Jim Martin. In 2007, the same year Hargrove began sexually assaulting a student, Martin was among the first additions to the school district’s “Wall of Fame” recognizing high-achieving graduates.
In 2020, Martin was honored as a Texas Education Agency “Hero for Children” for his years of volunteer work in Brazosport ISD—including as chairman of the district’s 2014 and 2019 bond committees.
In a similar case of a female Texas teacher charged years after sexually assaulting a young student, former Krum ISD band director Carol Turner was arrested in May 2024 on 11 felony counts of child sex abuse dating back to the late 1990s.
In April of this year, Turner pleaded guilty to all counts and received 10 years of deferred adjudication with no prison time. Her teaching certificate was revoked and she was added to the Do Not Hire Registry of people ineligible to be employed by a public school.
Hargrove’s teaching certificate remains valid, and she has not yet been added to the Do Not Hire Registry.
In just the past few years, hundreds of Texas teachers have been accused of sex crimes involving students and other children. Thousands of educator sexual misconduct complaints have been reported to the Texas Education Agency since the state began keeping organized records in 2021.
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