Child sex abuse arrests of 3 Texas educators spark investigation of other schools, churches
An ongoing child sexual abuse investigation that led to the arrests of three educators at a North Texas charter school has identified two victims so far and could result in additional charges as police explore possible connections at other schools and churches, officials said Thursday.
Newman International Academy Police Chief Matthew Antkowiak shared new details of the investigation at a press conference, and school administrators met with concerned parents.
Ruel Barbee, 53, who had been working as an instructional aide at the academy’s Gibbins school in Arlington since 2023, was the first to be arrested in the investigation on Feb. 6, followed by 20-year-old coach Gabrielle Little, who was arrested on Feb. 10.
Barbee faces a charge of having an improper relationship with a student, and Little faces a charge of child grooming, according to court records. Both Barbee and Little were fired, school officials said.
According to an affidavit police wrote in support of Barbee’s arrest warrant, the victim told police that she and Barbee began speaking to each other in May 2024 and nothing physical or inappropriate happened at that time. The student and teacher began speaking again when school resumed in September, and Barbee told her that he would get her phone number after she graduated, the affidavit states.
The victim told police that Barbee began “gazing” at her sometime in the fall semester, and after that they kissed and touched each other sexually on several occasions, according to the affidavit. In an interview with police on Feb. 6, Barbee admitted touching the victim, the affidavit states.
An arrest warrant affidavit for Little has not been released.
The Gibbins campus’ principal, Richard Adams, was arrested on Wednesday, Feb. 12, and he was released from the Tarrant County Jail on bond Thursday night. He faces charges of failure to make a required child abuse report, three counts of tampering with evidence and one count of tampering with a witness.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Adams is accused of not following the law that required him to report any allegations of sexual contact between a teacher and a student within 48 hours, and of destroying emails in his school account that included critical evidence. Adams also is accused of ordering a student to delete evidence from the student’s cellphone, the affidavit states.
Investigators believe that Adams had “personal knowledge of two separate improper relationships between student and educator” and that he allowed a suspect’s wife to come to the school and collect the suspect’s personal property during the investigation, the affidavit states.
Adams resigned while he was being investigated, the school’s assistant superintendent said.
Two seventh-grade girls went to a campus police officer to report the incident that led to the investigation, Antkowiak said.
“What courage it takes for a young lady to step up and say this isn’t OK,” Antkowiak said. “To the other kids out there that are just wondering whether I should say something: Say it! Say it again and again and again — don’t stop saying it until someone steps up and does what’s right here.”
The victims police have identified both attend the Gibbins campus, which serves seventh- through 12-grade students. But the investigation is not limited to incidents at the Newman International Academy campuses, Antkowiak said. Investigators are working with federal and other law enforcement agencies and looking into potential victims at other schools, both in Texas and in other states, he said. These potential victims may be connected to the already identified suspects, Antkowiak said. Anyone with information can email report@newmanacademy.org, he said.
The police chief said that despite using best practices and guidelines to hire new educators, “these individuals had nothing (criminal) in their background.”
Antkowiak said they are also investigating three churches — two in Texas and one in another state that he did not name — that might be involved in the case. One of the suspects was a youth pastor at a church as a second job beyond his responsibility as an educator, he said. He did not identify the churches.
“This is the reason why people don’t trust churches or schools,” he said.
Meanwhile, a new leadership team is in place at the Gibbins campus with leaders who are “experienced, dedicated and committed to upholding the values and safety standards that define Newman International Academy,” Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Schools Donna Hart said during the press conference.
In addition to the educators were fired or resigned, the campus’ athletic director, head varsity girls’ basketball coach and an assistant football coach have been placed on administrative leave with pay until the criminal and administrative investigations are completed, school officials said.
“We understand that this news is difficult, and we want to assure you that we are taking every necessary step to maintain a secure and supportive environment for our students, to ensure stability and continuity,” Hart said.
Hart said the school has taken the allegations against the educators extremely seriously from the moment they came to administrators’ attention. “The safety, well-being and trust of our students and our families are our highest priorities,” she said.
Antkowiak said parents and administrators of schools need to look at the example of the students who reported the misconduct and do what’s right.
“I want to be clear that the safety and well-being of our students and students from other schools is my personal highest priority as a victim myself of a child sexual crime,” Antkowiak said “I’m not playing. Other educators at other school districts and at churches that failed to take appropriate action and pass the trash will be held accountable.”
“Back when I grew up, there was a lot of shame for victims,” he said. “It wasn’t my plan to share today, but I think it’s important for people to hear this.”
Antkowiak said we have a choice to make as a society — either to keep pretending like this isn’t happening or to take action as responsible adults.
“I’m going to work within the boundaries of the law to bring justice and voices to the kids that need that, too,” he said “I’m not stopping. We’re going to continue to beat this drum.”
Newman International Academy also hosted a listening session with parents where the police chief addressed their concerns.
Peter Nguyen, 54, a father of a seventh-grader at the school, said lots of angry parents spoke up at the meeting.
“As parents we want our kids to be safe,” Nguyen said. “I think they’re doing everything they can. My kids still are gonna be here. We’re not gonna change (schools) yet.”
“We can’t protect our kids when they’re in school, so you have to trust the teachers. Things like this happen,” he said.
Nguyen said it is also important for parents to take care of their kids and find out if something is wrong.
Vernedith Edwards, 42, a mother of a seventh-grader, said the news was a “super big shock.”
Edwards said this kind of incident could have happened at any school but “you just don’t hear about it” and “at least the students felt safe enough to say” what happened.
“What brave souls to have to deal with it, and they have to live with it — that’s a lot for a kid to deal with,” Edwards said
Academy Superintendent Sheba George said in written statement, “We will root out any exploitation or abuse of our students. There is absolutely no excuse that could justify the actions of educators who do not care about the well-being of students or who hurt them. It is my hope and prayer that other institutions responsible for the safety and well-being of children would take similar actions in response to this epidemic in our schools.
“At Newman International Academy, we will do what is right,” she said. “We will fight for the justice of victims. We will not tolerate abuse or any action that attempts to cover up or hide it. We will deal with all allegations of misconduct of our staff fairly, but make no mistake: There is no place here at Newman where we will protect an educator or this institution’s reputation over a student’s life and the justice deserved by a victim of abuse.”
Another Newman International Academy educator, coach Alberto de la Cruz, was arrested in 2023 and charged with having an improper relationship with a high school student. He was also charged with sexual assault of a child.
The school’s police department said de la Cruz used his role as the athletics director to gain access to the student and “deliberately manipulated and coerced the victim through the power imbalance” that existed because of his position of authority.
De la Cruz received deferred adjudication and eight years of probation as part of a plea agreement in May, according to court records.
In a separate case in October, at IT manager for the academy, 45-year-old Jeremy Henrickson, was arrested in Mansfield and accused of possessing images of child sexual abuse. The charges against Henrickson did not involve students or school property, according to the school’s police department.
This story was originally published February 13, 2025 at 8:27 PM.