Criminal charges have been filed in Houston, Texas, against a 24-year-old middle school English teacher who allegedly engaged in a sexual relationship with one of her 13-year-old students, PEOPLE confirms.
According to prison records, Alexandria Vera was taken into custody Wednesday morning after an arrest warrant had been issued. A Montgomery County Police spokesman tells PEOPLE investigators believe that Vera was, at one time, pregnant with the eighth grade student’s child. Vera, a teacher for the Aldine Independent School District, was the subject of a recently launched investigation into her alleged sexual relationship with a 13-year-old student at Stovall Middle School, a law enforcement official explains. Detectives claim Vera acknowledged having a sexual relationship with the student, telling them the two began getting intimate last September. Vera allegedly told investigators she’d first met the student during a summer school session. The student tried connecting with Vera via Instagram, which she initially ignored. Then, when he failed to show for classes, Vera allegedly sent a message to the boy, who responded by asking for her phone number.
Police claim that Vera told them the student asked if they could meet up and she agreed. Court records indicate Vera told detectives she drove to the student’s house to pick him up. Not long after, the two kissed in her car.
The next day, Vera claims she drove back to the student’s home. While his parents were at work, Vera and the student allegedly had sex. Vera allegedly claimed during questioning that the boy’s parents were aware of the relationship, and were so approving of the union that they let their child spend nights at her house. Vera told investigators she would drop him off at his home in the morning so he could catch the bus to school, police explain. Police say Vera told them that when she met with the boy’s parents in October, he introduced her as his girlfriend. In January, after months of sexual encounters, Vera allegedly told police she learned she was pregnant by the boy’s child. Records indicate she disclosed the pregnancy to the 13-year-old’s parents, and that they expressed support and excitement over the impending bundle. But a month later, the child was aborted not long after representatives from Child Protective Services arrived at her school to question her and the student about their relationship. A spokesman tells PEOPLE Vera initially denied being involved with the student. Vera has been charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child. Court records do not include information about her defense lawyer.
