TEXARKANA, Texas – A former special education teacher with the Pleasant Grove Independent School District has been charged with multiple felonies in connection with the alleged sexual abuse of an autistic teen.
Jeffery Merril Parker, 63, is currently being held in the Bowie County jail on a single count of sexual abuse of a disabled person and three counts of improper relationship between educator and student, according to court records filed Wednesday. His bail is currently set at $1.25 million.
Parker allegedly abused the girl on multiple occasions, with the abuse beginning in August 2023 and continuing until April this year, according to a probable cause affidavit filed Wednesday.
Parker allegedly abused the girl during lunch when they were alone in the classroom. Parker allegedly exposed himself to the girl and reassured her when she “told him she was scared.”
The disabled girl allegedly would cry in the bathroom after being abused.
He allegedly sexually assaulted the girl after pulling up her dress and is accused of making the student touch him, according to the affidavit.
When confronted by police about the abuse April 27, Parker allegedly told them that he no longer had text messages he had sent to the girl to “check on her” but investigators were able to acquire the messages from the girls’ device after consulting with her mother.
Parker allegedly consumed liquor and consumed an excess of prescription medications on April 27, the day the abuse was reported to law enforcement and school officials placed him on leave, the affidavit said. Parker was transported from his Queen City, Texas, home to an area hospital.
Parker was initially arrested in Cass County. Jail records show he has been in Bowie County custody since May 1.
If convicted of sexually abusing a disabled person, Parker faces five to 99 years or life in prison. If convicted of improper relationship between educator and student, Parker faces two to 20 years on each of three counts.
The case has been assigned to Fifth District Judge Bill Miller. An attorney of record was not listed Wednesday for Parker.