TEXARKANA, Texas–A federal grand jury indicted a former Texas High School band director Thursday who was arrested last year for allegedly offering to pay a male student for sex.
Brandon Neil Sams, 47, has been charged in the Texarkana Division of the Eastern District of Texas with two counts of coercion or enticement of a minor. If convicted of that crime, Sams faces 10 years to life in federal prison on each count, according to court records. He would also be required to register as a sex offender.
When Sams was arrested last year, allegations concerning one male student were known but the federal indictment issued Tuesday alleges misconduct with two students, one count alleges misconduct beginning in 2018 and continuing through March 2019 with “Victim 1,” while the second count alleges misconduct with “Victim 2” from March 2022 to September 2022.
Both counts accuse Sams of coercing minors to engage in sexual conduct and alleges his behavior included conduct that meets the definition of the crime of improper relationship between educator and student under Texas law.
Sams allegedly gave a male high school student a credit card and a laptop computer and offered to pay him for sex, according to a probable cause affidavit on file in the state case.
The boy’s parents reported their suspicion that Sams was “grooming” their son to school administrators on Sept. 26, 2022, prompting a call to police. The parents provided an officer with a debit card and a credit card which Sams allegedly gave the boy to use and showed text messages on the boy’s phone allegedly sent by Sams using Whats App in which he speaks of “gay for pay.”
Sams allegedly gave the student a laptop computer in exchange for a sexually graphic photo, the affidavit said.
Sams allegedly became “visibly nervous” when asked if he would allow an officer to examine his phone. While the officer was out of the room making arrangements to acquire a search warrant for Sams’ phone, Sams allegedly left the building.
When the officer approached Sams in the parking lot and told him he was not free to leave, Sams allegedly fled. The Texarkana Arkansas Police Department and Texarkana Texas Police Department assisted Texarkana Independent School District police in locating Sams at his residence in the 1300 block of Hudson Place where he was arrested for felony evading arrest.
Sams allegedly told Arkansas-side detectives that he had thrown his phone out the passenger-side window of his car while traveling on Interstate 30. Officers with a K9 unit searched the area but were unable to find the phone. TAPD officers acquired a warrant for Sams’ home but were unable to locate the device there either.
Sams has been charged with improper relationship between educator and student, evading arrest and tampering with evidence in Bowie County. His bonds total $70,000 on those charges.
The government is seeking Sams’ forfeiture of a blue Apple iWatch, a black iPhone, an Apple TV, a Sony Playstation and a Dell computer tower, according to the indictment.
Sams is currently in federal custody. He waived a detention hearing in October 2022 at his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge James Boone Baxter in Texarkana’s downtown federal building. A date for Sams to appear for arraignment on the federal indictment hasn’t been set.
