BAYTOWN, Texas — A substitute teacher with the Goose Creek Independent School District in Baytown was in court Monday morning on a charge of online solicitation of a minor.
Joshua Hockless, 25, sent nude video of himself to a 15-year-old former student at Green Junior High and asked her to send a naked picture to him.
According to court documents, the video of Hockless completely naked was sent to the girl's Instagram account. Hockless was standing in front of a bathroom mirror and he moved the phone down to expose himself, records show.
The girl recognized Hockless as a substitute teacher from her Spanish class, told him to stay out of her DMs (direct messages) and immediately told her mom what happened.
The mom had the girl respond and tell him she was only 15 years old so she could record the conversation as evidence. According to court documents, Hockless replied that he had a crush on her and would like to take her to the Galleria and spoil her. He asked her for a naked photo and when she sent him a picture of herself fully-clothed he told her she was "fine," asked if she smoked and when she could get together with him to "chill."
According to court documents, Hockless also said "you young asf but i heard you mature and you always seemed that way but idk." In another photo of him shirtless and wearing boxer shorts, he reportedly asked for oral sex.
The girl's mom contacted the Baytown Police Department and provided them with screen shots of the messages. They turned the case over to the Harris County Sheriff's Office High-Tech Crimes Unit and they traced the Instagram IP address to Hockless and arrested him.
During the investigation, detectives learned that teachers at Green Junior High had raised a red flag about Hockless because female students were skipping class and hanging out in his classroom. The girl who reported him told investigators that she recognized the names of several other female students on his Instagram account but it's not clear if he tried to contact any other underage students.
"In terms of punishment range, it's not as serious as some would think it would be because the fact this involved a teacher, an educator , somebody that children trust and look up to, that's what makes this all the more aggravated and serious," prosecutor Dak Cohen said outside the courtroom.
Hockless was released on a $40,000 bond. The district attorney's office is asking to increase that bond amount.