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A female ex-teacher at an Azle private school stands accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old male student. The Parker County Sheriff’s department is also investigating a case involving the suspect and a 17-year-old student.
Azle police chief Steve Myers said his department has charged Julianna Christine Sauls, 38, with sexual assault on the 18-year-old and also “inappropriate educator/student relationship.” Because of the nature of the second charge, the boy’s adult age is not a factor, Myers said. Both are felonies.
Shortly after Azle police secured a warrant for her arrest, Sauls turned herself in at the Tarrant County Jail. She is currently free on bond. Sauls was a teacher at Azle Christian School until she was dismissed several weeks ago for alleged insufficient work performance. The two victims in the case are students at Azle Christian School.
Myers said he first heard about the charges when the 18-year-old and his father came to the police department to file a complaint on Oct. 28. “We’ve been in contact with the school,” he said. According to the 18-year-old victim, Sauls had been pursuing him since September, including groping him in class and performing oral sex on him in the Azle High School parking lot. Myers was quick to point out that Azle High School was not associated with the incident. The victim and some of his classmates – all members of Azle Christian School’s six-man football team – held unofficial practices on Azle High School’s practice field. According to Myers, Sauls found out about the practices and contacted the victim at that location. The victim showed investigators a pink note from Sauls which included her address and phone number. He said Sauls gave it to him so he could contact her anytime he wanted to have sex. The victim said Sauls called him on many occaions at night and left text messages. Myers said his department has since secured a search warrant to confiscate a computer and other items from Saul’s home. The Tarrant County District Attorney Forensic Unit is currently going through the evidence – some of which might link Sauls to the Parker County case, Myers said. “I don’t know of any admissions at this point, but there was enough evidence for a judge to issue two warrants for her arrest,” he said. Church comes forward Mike Miles, senior pastor at the Church at Azle, which houses Azle Christian School, issued a statement: “The Azle Christian School is deeply saddened by the events of this past week with the arrest of a former teacher and the allegations against her,” he said. “Even though we are a Christian school, we still employ human beings and, as we all know, human beings have flaws and make some very horrible decisions at times. “All of our staff, including Mrs. Sauls, go through a very complete background check through a national database. Our check showed nothing on her record. We also called references including former employers and no one had anything bad to say against Mrs. Sauls.” Miles said she was terminated for “reasons other than the allegations she now faces.” “It was after her termination that we began hearing rumors about some things that she was involved with,” he said. “We talked with the students involved and then decided to turn the information over to the Azle Police Department. They have handled the case since thattime.” Miles said that “contrary to news reports, all of our parents were called and informed of the events that were taking place.” “Our church family was informed of the possibility of these events some 5-6 weeks ago,” he said. “We have been overwhelmed with support and concern from the Azle community,” he said. “We wish to say thanks for all the calls, the letters and the emails. No one would ever want to go through something like this, but it is reassuring to know that our fellow churches and friends are there for us. “We ask that you continue to pray for our students as they begin the healing process. We also pray for the Sauls family as they deal with this issue.” Myers said cases like this, involving students, can be particularly hard on a community. “We are so defined by our schools,” he said. “The student- teacher relationship should be one of trust and confidence. It should be a safe, comfortable and secure relationship for the student.” Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler promised to update the Azle News on his department’s investigation involving Sauls and the 17-year-old. The 17-year-old claims Sauls has sexual contact with him outside his Parker County home. Myers said more boys may also have been victimized – but that doesn’t mean any of them will come forward. “Because of the potential embarrassment and the uncomfortable nature of something like this, it’s not rare for others not to come forward,” he said. |
