A Houston science teacher allegedly gave take a look at solutions and ideal grades to his pupil throughout their months-long sexual relationship, a prison criticism revealed.
Spring Department Unbiased College District instructor Stephen Griffin, 46, is dealing with felony fees for an improper relationship with an 18-year-old pupil, in accordance with a criticism filed in Harris County District Courtroom final month. He has been launched on $5,000 bond since his Dec. 7 arrest, courtroom data present.
“There’s been no evidence of this whatsoever and we deny the charges,” his lawyer, Justin Harris, advised Fox Information Digital on Monday. “Mr. Griffin has been a model teacher throughout his career and this has blindsided everybody. We have some trails that we’re going down that might explain where these allegations might be coming from.
“Usually when these items occur, what you learn in complaints and what truly finally ends up taking place are normally night time and day from one another. They’re on the identical planet, however they’re totally different elements of the identical day. We’re ready to see the proof within the case. Right now it is simply allegations. In the event you consider the state’s allegations on their face, this isn’t a sexual assault case – this was a consensual act between two adults.”
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Stephen Griffin, 46, faces a felony charge for having a sexual relationship with his 18-year-old student, the Spring Branch ISD Police Department said.
Griffin’s 18-year-old student told Spring Branch ISD Police that she would meet her science teacher at a hotel and, later, at his apartment in the 2022 and 2023 school year.
The teacher was working at Memorial High School at the time and in the process of divorcing his wife, according to the complaint.
Texas Penal Code 21.12 classifies an improper relationship between an educator and student as a second-degree felony, whether the student victim is legally a minor. It is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
The student’s mother reportedly brought their relationship to administrators’ attention around Nov. 30, according to the complaint. Her daughter would share incriminating text messages between herself and Griffin with Spring Branch ISD Police later that day.
About a year earlier, on Sept. 23, 2022, the unnamed female student emailed Griffin asking to eat lunch in his classroom during his off period. The teacher emailed her his personal cellphone number after the meeting, telling her they had “comparable backgrounds” and that he was accessible if she ever wanted assist or somebody to speak in confidence to.
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A digital forensic investigator with the Spring Branch ISD Police Department reviewed texts and photos on the student’s phone that confirmed her relationship with 46-year-old science teacher Stephen Griffin. (Google Maps)
The pair texted back and forth for a few months, the complaint shows. In November, the student met with Griffin at the Staybridge Suites Hotel, where they had sex, according to the complaint.
They would continue to meet there, she told police, and once exchanged oral sex in his classroom. On one occasion, she and Griffin allegedly had sex in the back of her car behind a restaurant in Houston.
At that point, the student recalled, the teacher began giving her test answers in advance and 100% scores on all of her assignments. Griffin allegedly gifted her his gray staff jacket and a candle that smelled like his cologne.
Their relationship ended midsummer 2023, the student said – Griffin allegedly told her to stop contacting him because he was trying to reconcile with his wife.
A Spring Branch ISD digital forensic technician then took the student’s phone to scour her Snapchat and Signal accounts for correspondence with Griffin.
The complaint showed one Snapchat message from Griffin on an unknown date read: “We have to discuss. I miss you. Can we discuss? I am suicidal proper now. Name me. Okay babe. That is how it will be? Do not do that, name me. Can we discuss in particular person? Need cash? I am about to kill myself. Please name me.”
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It is unclear whether Griffin is still employed by Memorial High School – he is still listed in the school’s online staff directory as of Jan. 8. (Google Maps)
It is unclear whether Griffin is still employed at Memorial High School – his name is still listed in the school’s staff directory on its website.
Griffin’s employment status was not immediately available from Spring Branch ISD officials.
“(That is) a personnel matter involving a prison investigation. The district can’t verify the identification of people concerned presently,” Spring Department ISD advised ABC 13 final month.
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Griffin’s subsequent courtroom date is scheduled for Feb. 28, per on-line courtroom data.
