Band teacher made 57 payments to student he’s accused of sexually abusing, TX cops say
A band teacher in Texas is accused of making thousands of dollars in payments to a student he was sexually abusing, officials told news outlets.
Rodney Tyrone Childers was arrested and booked into jail by police in Round Rock — a community of roughly 125,000 located north of Austin — on July 31, jail records show. Childers lived in Round Rock but was employed by the Austin Independent School District.
According to court documents, an investigation was launched into the 41-year-old LBJ Early College High School teacher after the victim’s mother made a surprising discovery, KTBC reported. She noticed someone was sending her son money on CashApp, and a lot of it, she told Austin ISD police.
Police looked deeper into the matter and found that from February through July, Childers had sent the boy 57 payments for a total of $2,296, the outlet reported.
At some point, documents said the mother confronted Childers after he took her son to get a haircut, according to the station. While he said he should have first asked for her approval, he ultimately played it off like it wasn’t a big deal, though admitted it was against school policy, officials said in court records.
Investigators uncovered text messages between Childers and the student, plus conversations on Instagram and BandApp, which included explicit images, KEYE reported.
But Childers’ alleged abuse went past words and pictures, according to investigators. In late June, he took the boy to an adult store, then sexually assaulted him in the parking lot before dropping him off at his house, the station reported.
Childers was hired in the fall of 2023 and taught band, piano and choir, KVUE reported.
He is charged with indecency with a child by exposure, child grooming and improper relationship between educator and student, records show. His bond is set at $375,000.
Childers was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, KTBC reported. McClatchy News reached out to the district for comment Aug. 6 and was awaiting a response.