HOUSTON -- A biology teacher who is also assistant cheer coach at Pasadena High School has confessed to having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student.
The investigation began after the teacher admitted a naked photo of herself might be circulating among the students.
According to Harris County prosecutors, Ashley Elizabeth Zehnder, 24, approached the assistant principal at Pasadena High claiming that students might have gotten access to a nude photo off of her old cell phone.
The assistant principal investigated, and found one student who said he no longer had the picture, but knew a student who did. That next student, a 17-year-old boy, admitted he had the picture because Zehnder sent it to him and said that they had been having sex at her Houston apartment since May of this year.
"He was able to describe her room, her apartment, the layout of it, exactly where it was," said assistant district attorney Nick Socias referring to the teacher's southeast Houston apartment.
Pasadena ISD says its investigation began on October 1st. Zehnder resigned October 9. And prosecutors say when she was confronted with the sexting exchanges between herself and the student that she confessed to the sexual relationship.
Zehnder made her first court appearance Monday on a charge of an inappropriate relationship with a student and has been released on $10,000 bond.
"She admitted to sending the nude photo to the student, knowing in fact that he was a student, and that they had sex," said Socias. "It's different," he said of the investigation that began because the teacher alerted school administration to start an investigation. "It's not how these cases normally start. There's a lot of questions on why she even brought it up to begin with."
In a statement to KHOU 11 News, Pasadena ISD Associate Superintendent Renea Ivy said:
"These charges are very serious and this behavior will not be tolerated in Pasadena ISD. When an educator violates the trust of a student, it makes it difficult for the majority of teachers who genuinely care for the safety and well-being of students. We will continue to work together to provide a safe environment for our children to learn."
