A San Antonio school teacher is accused of sexually grooming a 15-year-old student via online apps, and local police fear he may have more victims.
John Ghrist III, 36, was arrested Tuesday and charged with online solicitation of a minor, a third-degree felony punishable by 2 to 10 years in prison.
Ghrist taught at Churchill High School in North East Independent School District.
According to arrest documents, Ghrist and a female student exchanged nude pictures and sexually explicit messages via the social media app Snapchat starting around November 2023.
Ghrist also messaged the girl using Remind, a school-approved app designed for communication between teachers and students.
The girl’s parents reported the relationship to Castle Hill police and the school principal after discovering a sexually explicit letter from Ghrist to their daughter inside her dresser drawer.
District officials stated Ghrist was allowed to resign in June after their investigation confirmed the “inappropriate communication.”
In June we were made aware of possible inappropriate communication between a Churchill teacher and student. We began an immediate investigation and were able to substantiate that inappropriate communication took place. The teacher resigned at that time and we reported our findings to the authorities and to the State Board of Education.
“Why didn’t NEISD police make this arrest months ago?” parent advocacy group Texas Education 911 asked on social media. “Apps and emails to district-owned student emails or devices give would-be perps direct after-hours contact with teenage students. Don’t school boards have policies against this?”
“This is not the first instance of this at NEISD,” the post added.
Earlier this year, a football coach at North East ISD’s Roosevelt High School was arrested and charged with having an “improper relationship” with a student. Last year, a teaching assistant at Johnson High School was charged under the state’s new anti-child grooming law after sending a student nude pictures and videos via Snapchat, but she fled to avoid arrest.
Ghrist was booked into the Bexar County Jail on October 2 and released on a $50,000 bond.
State records show Ghrist was certified to teach social studies in 2020. His teaching certificate remains valid but shows he is under review by the Texas Education Agency’s Educator Investigations Division.
Police fear Ghrist may have solicited more students and are asking other potential victims to come forward.
Castle Hills Assistant Police Chief Tina Vitacco told KENS5 that it’s common for there to be multiple victims in cases involving the grooming of minors.
“There’s what we call a grooming process that a lot of times the suspects will use with the victims. Starts off with basic friendship and grows into something a little less appropriate,” Vitacco said. “Our biggest concern is that there potentially could be other victims.”
Anyone with information can contact the Castle Hills Police Department.
Texas Scorecard has reported on dozens of Texas teachers charged with sex crimes involving students. In many cases, the alleged perpetrators use social media to groom their victims.
