Kennedale teacher accused of having sex with 5 students

A Kennedale High School teacher has been arrested after being accused of having sex with five male students over the past two months.

Brittni Nicole Colleps, 27, an English teacher and coach at Kennedale High School, has been charged with five counts of having an inappropriate relationship with students at her Arlington home during April and May, Arlington police spokeswoman Tiara Richard said.

School officials learned about the information and contacted Kennedale police, who then determined that the crimes took place in Arlington and told Arlington police May 11, Richard said.

Detectives discovered a series of text messages between the students and Colleps that were sexual in nature, Richard said. Some of the messages included sexually explicit photographs, Richard said.

Students described to investigators that they had been in Colleps' home and had sex with her at that location, police said.

At least one of the students involved was in Colleps' class and all of the students were male, Richard said.

All of the students are 18 or older, but it is a criminal offense for teachers to have a sexual relationship with students, Arlington police said.

Colleps remained in the Arlington City Jail on Monday, police said. Bail is expected to be set at $125,000.

Kennedale school district officials sent a letter to students' parents and guardians Monday notifying them of the situation and saying that the alleged acts took place off campus.

Superintendent Gary Dugger told the Star-Telegram on Monday afternoon that Colleps had given notice in March that she would not be returning to the district next year.

She was working until May 11, when the allegations surfaced and she was put on paid leave until the end of the school year, he said.

She was not being investigated by the district, nor had the district heard of anything relating to the charges, until last week, Dugger said. Dugger said he could not remember specifically what reason she gave for submitting her resignation notice.

"The first we heard of this was Tuesday night, then Wednesday morning we started looking into it and Wednesday afternoon we turned it over to the police," Dugger said. "Right now it's more the police's business than it's ours."

Tarrant County records show that Colleps has been married for seven years.

On Monday, neighbor Sherry Berthiaume said that she never saw anyone outside of Colleps' home in southwest Arlington.

"I saw a truck in the garage, but I never saw them outside mowing their yard," said Berthiaume, noting that the couple moved into the neighborhood last summer. "I never saw any kids over there."

Each charge is a second-degree felony carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, according to the Texas Penal Code.

Staff writer Domingo Ramirez Jr. contributed to this report.

Chance Welch, 817-390-7684 Shirley Jinkins, 817-390-7657

This story was originally published May 16, 2011 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Kennedale teacher accused of having sex with 5 students."