High School educator accused of having sex with student in Office
A Spring High School assistant principal is accused of having sex with a student in his office during a prom event last year, after suspicions of inappropriate relationships had persisted for several months, officials said.
Mark West was charged with 'improper relationship with a student' for an incident on May 12, court records show. West has been on administrative leave since an investigation into the incident that began in February. He resigned on last Friday.
Though investigators say West denies the charges, he was arrested last week on $30,000 bail.
Reports say:
During the 2011-2012 school year, high school administrators began to investigate West after suggestions surfaced of inappropriate relationships with students, according to a criminal complaint. Young women were seen laughing and smiling, with their disheveled hair and clothing as they left "closed-door meetings" in his office, the document said.
Spring ISD police last year began to investigate an allegation that West had inappropriately touched a female student, but no criminal charges were filed because of a lack of evidence, according to the complaint. School administrators told West to stop behavior that involved any physical contact with students, officials said.
The associate principal told West in December to stop having closed-door meetings with female students. In January, Spring High School Principal Donna Ullrich told him that staff members and students continued to complain about his inappropriate behavior with students, records show.
Investigators eventually connected a name with the allegations and tracked down a teenager who is now attending college. The former student told investigators that when she was a senior, she had sex with West in his office during a prom event.
"I want to assure you that the safety of our students is of the highest importance at Spring High School," Ullrich said in a letter sent home to parents. "The administration at Spring High School takes every allegation seriously and will conduct a thorough investigation and expose inappropriate behavior when necessary."
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