The arrest of teachers inevitably makes news headlines. The Dallas Morning News recently reported on how a Richardson ISD teacher who was arrested last week on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy later told police that he has HIV.
The news report said Roger Kessler, 43, told investigators he hadn’t revealed his medical condition to the boy. The report stated he met the boy in August through a dating app, according to a probable cause affidavit. The teacher told investigators he had met the boy four times for sexual encounters and had used protection all but one time.
Kessler is reported to be a music teacher at RISD Academy, where he has worked for 14 years. He is facing a charge of sexual assault of a child, a second-degree felony.
A McKinney police spokeswoman would not say whether further charges are pending. She said the investigation is ongoing.
The school has placed the teacher on administrative leave and sent a letter to parents at the academy on Thursday. Investigators indicated to the district that the boy is not a student.
District officials said in the letter Kessler has “no history of complaints of this nature.”
The teacher was taken into custody after police responded to a suspected burglary. The homeowner, a 31-year-old woman, was holding Kessler down when officers arrived.
She told police was coming home when she saw Kessler leaving the backyard. When police questioned the teacher, he told them he was meeting “a guy” for sex, the Dallas Morning News reported.
The report cited court records that stated Kessler and the boy met through a dating app for gay and bisexual men called Grindr and they exchanged explicit messages. Kessler told police that he thought the boy was possibly a college student. The report said he later admitted he knew the boy was 15.
It’s not clear if the victim was infected in this case. Transmission of a sexually transmitted disease (STD) is an offense. Sexual offenses, particularly those involving children, are among the most reviled of offenses. It can sometimes be more difficult for a defendant to get a fair trial due to the nature of the offense. If you have been charged with an offense like this you should hire an experienced Dallas sexual offense defense lawyer.
