A former Texas teacher and camp counselor was arrested for sexually exploiting children.
Robert Jerome Custer, 56, was arrested on a federal charge of accessing child sexual abuse material, commonly called child pornography.
Custer previously worked as an educator and counselor in Palestine, Barksdale, Kingsville, and Abilene, according to a statement from the Texas Department of Public Safety.
He was not employed as a teacher or counselor at the time of his arrest on August 15.
Online records show that Custer worked as a teacher for the Abilene Independent School District in 2015 and for Texas Leadership Charter Academy from 2020 to 2022. TLCA has campuses in San Angelo, Midland, Abilene, Arlington, and Cedar Hill.
Custer holds a valid lifetime teaching certificate that was issued in 1990.
Texas DPS investigated the crime along with a federal Homeland Security Investigations team.
Investigators are seeking information from potential unreported victims from Custer’s time as an educator or camp counselor.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Texas DPS Criminal Investigations Division office in Abilene at 325-795-4070.
In just the past few years, hundreds of Texas school employees have been accused of sex crimes involving children, including possessing, producing, and distributing child sexual abuse material.
Thousands of educator sexual misconduct complaints have been reported to the state since the TEA began keeping organized records in 2021.
