HOUSTON An Alief ISD teacher accused of having inappropriatesexual contactwith a student appeared before a Harris County judge Tuesday morning.
Jeffrey Guzman, a 32-year-old economics teacher at Elsik High School, was charged with felonyimproper relationship with a student.
The judge ordered him to stay away from his accuser.
Attorney James Fallon said his clientis innocent.
Right now we don t know the full extent of them (the allegations) but we do know there were no underage students involved, Fallon said. These were all people that were all legal in the eyes of the state of Texas.
In Texas, it is illegal for a teacher to have sexual relations with a student -- regardless of age.
According to court documents, Guzman sent partially-clothed photos of himself and sexually graphic text messages to a 17-year-old student at his school. He also allegedly picked the teen up from her home and drove her to a location where he kissed and fondled her.
Since those allegations surfaced, two more female students have come forward saying they were victimized as well. The girls, who were both 18 at the time, saidthey had sex with Guzman.
One woman, who didn t want her name used, said Guzman was tutoring her in economics when the relationship started.
She said he stopped calling after a couple of months and moved onto the next target.
I just felt humiliated. It was probably the lowest that I ve ever felt about myself, she said. My heart goes out to the other girls that had to go through it. Nobody deserves that. Nobody deserves to be taken advantage of that way.
Thealleged victimsdescribed Guzman as a smooth talker and a master manipulator.
His attorney says he is a family man.
He s a dad and a husband and he s going through a hard time, said Fallon.
