Texas Teacher Sexually Abused Her Former Student for Years: Police
A Texas teacher was arrested on Saturday after her former student contacted authorities and reported that she was sexually abusing him for three years.
Marka Lee Bodine, 31, who taught middle school students at Tomball Intermediate School, was charged with "continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14," Crime Online reported.
An investigation started on Apr. 11 after the now-16-year-old boy called the police and complained of an ongoing, inappropriate sexual relationship with the former Texas teacher.
Tomball Police Chief Jeff Bert said that it was a cry out for help.
"He had reached out to a school, and he reached out to the police department as well, so I think he just became overwhelmed with it and reached out to us," Bert said in the report.
Authorities learned during the investigation that the former Texas teacher had reportedly been sexually assaulting the boy after years of grooming him. This means that Marka Lee Bodine has been accused of spending time with the boy, trying to build rapport to have an emotional connection with the victim.
Bodine was taken into custody and was booked into the Harris County jail. She was released after posting a $100,000 bond, according to a Daily Mail report.
She made her first court appearance on Monday and was required to wear a GPS monitor as one of the conditions of her release.
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The Investigation
Court documents showed that Marka Lee Bodine allegedly told the principal that her former sixth-grade student was harassing her and threatening to harm itself. The principal then contacted the police.
Later on, Bodine reportedly admitted that she had a sexual relationship with the same boy and that he got access to her phone and manipulated photos.
The student claimed the opposite and said that he was just 13 years old when the former Texas teacher started sexually abusing him.
The boy noted that they initially started chatting through a video game, and soon after, they began exchanging explicit photos and videos and hooking up in person for sexual reasons.
He said they have once had sex in her classroom and sometimes in her car. The student added that the former Texas teacher moved into his apartment complex after her divorced, according to a Law & Crime report.
"Our big concern from the police department right now is to ensure that we have all the evidence of this case, but to ensure that there's no other children involved," Bert said.
Bodine's LinkedIn profile stated that she had taught English at Tomball Independent School District (ISD) for about six years.
In a statement, Tomball ISD said that Bodine was placed on administrative leave and then resigned when the allegations surfaced.
The school district noted that "any and all employee misconduct allegations" were taken seriously and investigated promptly and thoroughly.
Tomball ISD added that they value the safety of their students and consider it their number one priority, People reported.
Meanwhile, in Tallahassee, Florida, Denzel Bonner, 30, was charged with sexual assault of a minor and used a two-way device to facilitate a felony and engage in prostitution.
According to a Tallahassee Demo report, Bonner is a physical education and health instructor at the preK-5 school who was arrested last week on charges of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old runaway girl.
WATCH: Former Tomball ISD Teacher Charged With Continuous Sexual Abuse of Child - From KPRC 2 Click2Houston