Men
Kevin McLean, Dripping Springs teacher arrested on 7 criminal charges
According to an HCSO press statement, Kevin McLean, a Dripping Springs Middle School teacher, and coach was arrested after a concerted effort involving the Hays County Sheriff’s Office, the Austin Police Department, and Dripping Springs ISD.
According to a news statement from Hays County, McLean, 30, was apprehended and arrested at approximately 2:10 p.m. on Thursday after seven arrest warrants were obtained.
According to HCSO, McLean faces four class A misdemeanor counts of selling, distributing, or displaying hazardous material to a kid, as well as three second-degree felony accusations of distributing controlled substances to a minor.
McLean was employed in August 2020, according to DSISD, and passed the national background check required of all workers.
“Mr. McLean will not return to any campus or DSISD property,” DSID said.
A search order for McLean’s cell phone was granted on Wednesday, revealing details regarding suspicions of illegal interactions with three pupils aged 12 to 14.
“In an effort to keep our community informed, I wanted to let you know that we have taken prompt action to review a matter involving social media postings. We take all reports of misconduct very seriously and the employee has been assigned leave status pending the completion of a full review,” DSISD wrote.
The APD responded to a sex crimes service call on April 26, according to the search warrant. A family member of the suspect, who also has ties to Dripping Springs Middle, made the call. A family member notified APD about Snapchat conversations exchanged between the suspect and three female middle school pupils.
According to the search warrant, the witness stated that the images did not involve sexual actions, but that at least one photo showed a girl in her underwear or potentially “extremely short under-shorts.”
According to the search warrant, the responding officer questioned the suspect about the claims, and the suspect informed the officer that some kids had approached him and requested him to buy vaping products, but the suspect had refused.
The officer claimed to have seen nine recent messages from the suspect. The Snapchats included texts from one of the three students in which the teacher and student appear to be organizing a meeting time and location, as well as a photo of what the officer described as “consistent with mushrooms associated with drugs usage.”
These messages and photographs, according to the warrant, supplied the police with sufficient reasonable cause to seize the phone as evidence. All three students’ parents have been alerted.
One of the students’ parents taped a discussion with their daughter concerning the messages. The kid told her parents in the audio recording that the teacher sent her Snapchat messages with at least one sexually explicit video. According to the warrant, the teacher allegedly texted photographs, including one that said: “time to go high AF” and offered to let her use his THC vape pen. That student also claimed she had seen a sexually graphic film provided to a third student by the teacher.
McLean was placed on leave on April 27 and has now quit and is no longer permitted on campus, according to DSISD. He was hired in August 2020, according to the district, and passed a fingerprint-based background check.
“[We] know these types of situations can be concerning,” DSISD officials said in a letter to parents. “Please know that it is always our priority and responsibility to provide your students with a safe and professional learning environment.”
Arrest Information:
