UPDATED October 3.
A now-former Wylie substitute teacher is accused of sexually abusing a young girl.
Arthur “AJ” Bass, 55, was arrested Friday and charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14 years old, a first-degree felony punishable by 25 years to life in prison.
Wylie Independent School District officials emailed families on Friday that an unnamed “former Wylie ISD substitute teacher” had been arrested on charges of sexual abuse of a child.
“Our understanding is that the Wylie Police Department will release additional information soon,” stated the email.
Shortly after, Wylie police announced the arrest of Bass for the same crime.
According to the district’s email, the alleged crime “did not occur on a Wylie ISD campus, nor did it involve a student the substitute met through our schools.”
The individual began working as a substitute in 2023, with his last assignment in April 2025. He has not served in our schools this school year. During his time with us, he worked at multiple campuses across the district, and we received no complaints regarding his conduct.
“Following notification of his arrest, the substitute was terminated from our district and is no longer eligible to work in Wylie ISD,” the district’s email stated.
The email added that the crime “does not directly involve our district” and encouraged parents or staff with knowledge that could assist law enforcement to contact Wylie police.
The Wylie Police Department’s news release stated that its investigation began on October 1, after police received information of a child making an outcry to her mother. The victim’s mother also notified law enforcement directly.
Investigators assigned to the Children’s Advocacy Center of Collin County arrested Bass on October 2.
Bass was booked into the Collin County Jail on October 3. Bond is set at $750,000.
Wylie police added that the case remains under investigation and no other details will be released at this time.
Bass also served as a worship pastor at New Hope Christian Church from May 2013 to February 2023, according to a notice advising members of his arrest.
Wylie ISD’s email stated that district officials reported Bass to the Texas Education Agency as required by law.
Bass does not appear to hold a Texas teaching certificate. As of Friday, he was not listed as “under investigation” in the Do Not Hire Registry of people ineligible to be employed by a public school.
Bass is among hundreds of Texas educators accused of sex crimes involving students and other children in just the past few years.
Thousands of educator sexual misconduct complaints have been reported to the TEA since the agency began keeping organized records in 2021.
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