An adjunct faculty member banned from the University of Houston amid an investigation into allegations of soliciting minors and possessing child sexual abuse material has also been removed from a teaching post at Houston City College, according to internal emails obtained by KPRC 2.
The faculty member, a political science adjunct and Ph.D. candidate at UH, was confronted on campus September 10 by Predator Poachers founder Alex Rosen, according to UH’s student newspaper The Daily Cougar. Rosen’s group poses as minors online, engages adults who respond with sexual interest, and turns the exchanges over to law enforcement.
Rosen told ABC13 his group had been messaging the faculty member since March while posing as a 13-year-old. He said the faculty member showed no concern about the stated age and later moved the conversation to Discord, where he solicited multiple sex acts. After the faculty member failed to show up for a planned in-person meeting, Rosen said he decided to confront him at UH instead.
Video of the confrontation shows Rosen and a film crew entering the faculty member’s classroom around 11:30 a.m. Freshman Kaman Walker, who was in the class, told the Houston Chronicle that a man carrying an envelope of photos approached the podium, spoke briefly with the instructor at the back of the room, and the class was dismissed early.
Rosen then spoke with the faculty member on campus for more than an hour while livestreaming on Kick, and the recording captured the faculty member admitting to buying child pornography and messaging minors.
University of Houston police were alerted to a disruption on campus and questioned the faculty member, the university said in a statement. UH said the matter involves discussion of child sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse materials. The university placed the faculty member on administrative leave, banned him from campus, and referred the case to a specialized task force within the Houston Police Department.
A UH spokesperson said the university has zero tolerance for child exploitation, abuse, or child sexual abuse materials.
UHPD also issued Rosen a criminal trespass warning and a be on the lookout alert barring him from UH property, after he assisted in identifying the faculty member.
The faculty member separately taught two GOVT 2305 federal government classes at Houston City College’s Central Campus.
According to the emails obtained by KPRC 2, an HCC administrator informed college leadership of the allegations September 12 and began arranging replacement instructors for the two classes, which met Mondays and Wednesdays. Four dual-credit high school students enrolled in the courses were transferred to another section. The college’s government department chair requested that a campus police officer attend both classes while the staffing change was made, the emails showed.
In a statement to KPRC 2, HCC confirmed the faculty member was placed on administrative leave and that a review consistent with college policy is underway. The college did not address the specific allegations in its statement.
No criminal charges had been filed against the faculty member as of Monday.
