Former Austin ISD employee facing new felony charge after second student victim discovered
AUSTIN (KXAN) — A former Austin ISD employee faces additional charges after a second student victim was discovered during an investigation into an improper relationship with a different student, an arrest affidavit states.
According to court documents filed Thursday, 41-year-old Rodney Tyrone Childers, who had been employed at LBJ Early College High School at the time of the incidents, was charged with improper relationship between an educator and student, a second-degree felony, concerning the second victim.
According to Travis County court records, Childers is facing a total of 10 charges. KXAN reached out to an attorney connected with Childers. This story will be updated if we receive a statement on his behalf.
During an interview with Austin ISD Police Department detectives, Childers admitted to not only engaging in inappropriate behavior with the first student victim but also with another student victim.
According to a new affidavit, Childers told detectives he sent the second victim nude photographs and video recordings through a location-based chat and dating app.
Through a search warrant, detectives obtained records from the app for Childers’ account and found several message conversations as well as nude photos and videos sent to the student.
One message conversation included Childers’ telling the student if they “were to do anything, nobody should know,” according to court documents.
Records said some of the photos and videos obtained showed Childers’ in his LBJ High School office.
During an interview, the student victim told investigators they received sexually explicit material from Childers as well as sending some of their own. The student also said there was never a point where the two made contact, saying the communication was strictly via chat on the dating app.
According to court documents, Childers also faces six other charges related to the first student victim. The charges include three counts of improper relationship between an educator and student, two counts of indecency with a child and one count of child grooming.