KLEIN, Texas — A Klein Independent School District cosmetology teacher who's accused of sex trafficking and compelling prostitution was in court Monday.
Kedria Grigsby, 42, and her son Roger Magee, 21, are accused of recruiting and trafficking at least three underage victims.
On Monday, the judge lowered her bond to $75,000 on each of six counts -- three counts of trafficking a child and three counts of compelling prostitution of a minor -- for a total of $450,000.
"These are our kids going to our schools and finding their way to seedy hotels and street corners all around the city, at the hands of people who appear to be upstanding citizens in our community," Assistant District Attorney Luke Baty said.
Grigsby grinned as she was taken out of the courtroom.
"I understand the severity of allegations but as I always tell my clients, they are allegations that statements aren’t corroborated," defense attorney Samuel Milledge II said after the hearing.
Also Monday, we learned that The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation issued an emergency order suspending Grigsby's cosmetologist license.
"To protect the health and safety of the general public, and to prevent Grigsby from working at a salon where she could potentially have access to young persons, TDLR is suspending her cosmetology license effective immediately. Grigsby will not be able to legally provide any cosmetology services or instruction until the emergency order is lifted," the agency said in a statement.
Klein ISD teacher recruited high school students in trafficking operation, HCSO says
According to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, the victims were 15, 16 and 17-year-old students and had been reported as runaways. Investigators said Grigsby recruited troubled juveniles from local high schools by offering them a place to stay at a motel.
"The investigating officer evidently determined there's at least one occasion where Ms. Grigsby had paid for a motel room that was used in the prostitution enterprise," the judge said in an earlier hearing.
According to prosecutors, investigators were looking for evidence in a motel room that was allegedly paid for by Grigsby when one of the alleged victims walked in and then ran out and got into a silver car believed to be driven by Grigsby. They said there was at least one other victim inside the vehicle.
Prosecutors said Grigsby and her son, who was arrested in 2022, used Zelle to transfer money and investigators found text messages between the two talking about payments and prostitution fees, as well as messages sent between her son and the victims.
Prosecutors said they anticipate more victims to come forward and more charges to be filed.
Community activists claim Klein ISD was warned about Grigsby
Quanell X and Dr. Candice Matthews say they have documents that prove Klein ISD knew about Grigsby's alleged misconduct.
"It's unbelievable. In my years of activism, three decades, I have never seen anything like this," Quanell X said on April 10. "I demand you apologize to the parents because you all did know."
They said a former teacher who worked at Klein Cain HS brought it to their attention after her own daughter -- also a student -- became a victim. The former teacher filed a police report as well as a written statement with the Harris County Sheriff's Office and shared it with the district.
"They didn't notify law enforcement and they didn't notify parents," Quanell X said. "They left a wolf in a chicken coop."
Klein ISD denies the claims. They said that when they were made aware of the police report in February 2023, they contacted HCSO but were told Grigsby wasn't a suspect. They said it wasn't until she was arrested in early April that they were aware of the allegations.
According to Klein ISD, Grigsby is a certified cosmetology teacher at Klein Cain High School and was hired in 2019. They said she passed a background check when she started. She was relieved of her teaching duties and placed on administrative leave after her arrest, which they said happened off campus. The district said parents were notified shortly after.