A Texas elementary school teacher who sexually abused multiple students during his 20-year career will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Andrew Hanson Palmore, 53, was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole—the maximum punishment allowed by law—for continuous sexual abuse of several child victims.
Prosecutors said Palmore exploited his role as a teacher to gain access to children and the trust of families.
Palmore taught at Blanco Vista Elementary School in Hays Consolidated Independent School District until 2022, when a child accused the teacher of sexual abuse.
That victim was not a Blanco Vista student. But investigators with the Kyle and San Marcos Police Departments discovered additional victims, including former students of Palmore’s at Casey Elementary School in Austin ISD during the 2000s.
During the trial, the jury heard testimony from six different children abused by Palmore, as well as testimony from two adult women who were victimized by Palmore during his time at Casey Elementary, according to a statement from Hays County Criminal District Attorney Kelly Higgins.
“It was apparent from the testimony of the witnesses that Palmore used his position as a teacher to gain access to an untold number of children and to garner the trust of the community and the parents,” stated Higgins.
“It is impossible to know the true extent of Palmore’s sexual abuse, which spanned more than two decades,” he added.
A Hays County jury found Palmore guilty and sentenced him on October 16.
“Children are the most vulnerable members of our society, and today, the children of Hays County have been made safer by ensuring a dangerous sexual predator will never have access to another child again. Bringing this predator to justice was truly a team and community effort,” said Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Schmidt, who prosecuted the case along with ADA Daniella Garcia.
State records show Palmore was first certified to teach elementary school in 2000. His teaching certificate expired in 2024 and is under review by the Texas Education Agency.
Hays CISD trustees voted to terminate Palmore’s contract on March 28, 2022. Palmore complained to the TEA that he was not notified that the board was considering termination. He submitted a resignation letter on May 31, 2022 and contended that the district owed him $13,000 for the remainder of his contract.
An administrative law judge declared the board’s termination invalid, noting that a school board has the authority to suspend a term contract teacher without pay but not to terminate a contract without notifying the teacher.
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath concurred, adding that Hays CISD “correctly” argued Palmore was being investigated for “particularly heinous crimes” and there was “clear evidence” of his guilt, but that “these factors do not change the level of due process required to terminate a term contract.”
Palmore is among hundreds of Texas school employees accused of sex crimes involving students and other minors in just the past few years. Thousands have been reported to the TEA for educator sexual misconduct.
