HOUSTON – A former Academy of Accelerated Learning charter school teacher has been arrested in Smith County on several charges out of Harris County related to sexual contact with students.
Reginald Van Long, 27, is currently being held in the Smith County Jail with a $400,000 bond. He’s charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child, improper relationship with a student, and online solicitation of a minor.
Records show he’s accused of having sex with a 14-year-old student in the backseat of his vehicle in December 2022. The sexual relationship apparently continued until October 2023, according to court records, and Long visited the girl’s house. The two had been communicating through Instagram messages.
When interviewed by investigators, Long allegedly confessed to having sex with the girl during that time period. He also allegedly confessed to sending sexual messages through Instagram to several other students at the Academy of Accelerated Learning, where he used to work, according to charging documents.
Investigators spoke with a woman who told them many students had outcried to her about Long’s alleged sexual contact. Some of the messages would say things like “sexy mama,” according to court records.
Another student, who was 12 at the time, claimed Long would send her inappropriate messages, asked for nude photos, and encouraged her to sneak out of a school-sponsored event to engage in sexual contact with him, according to charging documents. Long allegedly told her that he wanted to kidnap her because he didn’t want to wait for her to turn 18.
He allegedly confessed to sending the messages and wanting to kidnap her when investigators spoke with him.
Long remains under investigation for sexual contact with at least four other minor female students, according to court records.
Superintendent Brandon Chandler told KPRC 2 that Long has not been employed at the Academy of Accelerated Learning since June 2023. The school was recently made aware of the arrest and is cooperating with law enforcement, he wrote in an email. Chandler said the district was not aware of the allegations until the investigation began in October 2023. Chandler said Long worked at the Chimney Rock campus for one year. He was on a one-year work agreement that ended in June 2023 when the district reviewed the need for the position and found it was no longer needed.
“This is someone who you want your kids to trust in many ways. And this guy was really abusing the trust of parents and kids,” said Bob Sanborn, President and CEO of Children at Risk.
The Texas Education Agency told KPRC 2 Long is under investigation by the agency.
“When this sort of stuff is happening, the behavior of children changes,” Sanborn said.
Sanborn says kids may become withdrawn or start doing things differently, reasons why an open conversation with children is vital.
“Kids in middle school, they’re looking for a thrill. They’re looking for something different. And it’s sort of exciting for them when someone reaches out to them. But they have to be able to express that excitement with their parents, so the parents can say, oh, wait, maybe this isn’t the right thing,” he said.
It’s unclear when Long could face a judge in Harris County.