Photo: Williamson County Jail
A Texas high school student teacher admitted to having sex with an underage student, but claimed she viewed him "as a little brother," while speaking to police.
Darian Christine Rogers, 22, was charged with second-degree felony improper relationship between an educator and a student, according to Williamson County public arrested records. Rogers reportedly met the boy while both worked at a grocery store prior to being hired as a student teacher at Rouse High School in the Austin suburb of Leander in January, FOX 7 reports.
Rogers was reported to authorities by a student who said she had "personal knowledge" of her sexual relationship with a minor in April, according to court paperwork obtained by the news station. The student also provided voicemail from a woman identified as Rogers by the Williamson County Sheriff's Office in which she admitted to sending explicit photos to the 17-year-old.
The boy initially denied the illicit relationship while speaking to police until being confronted about the messages found on his phone, which included discussions between himself and Rodgers about the Plan B contraceptive pill, FOX 7 reports. Rogers initially denied having sex with the teenager and claimed they had a "big sister and little brother" relationship while speaking to police, according to an affidavit.
She eventually admitted to having sex with the boy "one time" in his truck while parked outside the H-E-B grocery store where they had previously worked together after being confronted with the text evidence, according to the affidavit. Rogers warned the teenager to avoid making "inappropriate comments" in front of school staff as she had been interviewing for a position at Rouse High School.
Detectives also found a video of Rogers taking the Plan B pill and a screenshot of the receipt on her phone. Another text thread between Rodgers and a friend described a previous sexual relationship she had with another 17-year-old student in the Leander Independent School district at the time.
Rouse High School principal Vincent Hawkins sent a letter to the families of students last Friday (May 16) following Rogers' arrest.
“The individual was not a Leander ISD or Rouse High School employee and was immediately removed from campus once the district was made aware of the situation,” the letter states via FOX 7.
“Any accusations of misconduct did not happen on our campus, during school hours, or at any school-sponsored event,” the letter continued.
Rogers was booked into Williamson County Jail and released on a $20,000 bond one day later. The 22-year-old is scheduled for a pre-indictment docket call on June 4, according to arrest records.