A Willis Independent School District employee was fired following his arrest for soliciting sex from a 14-year-old student.
Austin Gwaltney, 27, was arrested Monday and charged with online solicitation of a minor, a third-degree felony.
Gwaltney was a technology support helper who provided technical assistance to campuses throughout the district, according to a message from the Willis ISD administration alerting families to his arrest.
Willis ISD administrators fired Gwaltney when they learned of his arrest on August 31. He had worked for the district since January 30, 2024.
“We take matters involving the safety of children seriously,” the district stated, adding that school officials are cooperating fully with local law enforcement.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit made the arrest after investigating a reported inappropriate relationship between Gwaltney and a 14-year-old former Willis ISD student.
MCSO stated that SVU detectives determined Gwaltney and the minor had exchanged “inappropriate photographs.”
On Sunday evening, investigators executed a search warrant and an arrest warrant at Gwaltney’s residence.
Gwaltney was booked into the Montgomery County Jail on August 31. Bond was set at $125,000.
The investigation is ongoing and is being conducted jointly by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.
Anyone with information or who may have been targeted by Gwaltney is encouraged to contact the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office at 936-760-5800.
Gwaltney is the third Texas school employee charged with online solicitation of a minor in less than a week. On Friday, Richardson ISD teacher Michael Fouse and Andrews ISD teacher Christopher Cleveland were both arrested on the same charge.
In the past few years, hundreds of Texas school employees have been accused of sex crimes involving students and other children, and thousands have been reported to the Texas Education Agency for sexual misconduct.
The TEA’s Educator Misconduct Reporting Dashboard shows the agency is currently investigating more than 2,700 sexual misconduct complaints and opening an average of 250 new cases each month.
TEA is also receiving an average of 2,200 fingerprint-based criminal history alerts from law enforcement each month—more than 24,000 so far this fiscal year.
