WHARTON COUNTY, Texas – In the small city of Louise, Texas, which has a population of about 1,000, two unrelated arrests of teachers in the local school district is the talk of the town.
Both of the teachers are accused of disturbing crimes.
"You can't trust anybody with your kids nowadays, it seems like," Tierra Wright-Kemper said.
Investigators say Thomas Clay Hosman, a teacher and coach at Louise Junior High School, was arrested on Friday and charged with invasive visual recording. He's accused of secretly taking videos of several female students while they were changing clothes and uploading the videos to the internet.
"Very disturbing because I have a daughter that's in junior high," Wright-Kemper said.
Authorities said a Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children investigation led to a search warrant of Hosman's home and he was later arrested.
The district says he's been suspended from the Louise Independent School District pending termination.
"You look somebody in the eye on a daily basis and you develop a trust with them and sometimes that trust is breached," the district's superintendent said.
"I just think it's sad to be in a small community like this and to hear of someone that you potentially grew up with to be capable of that," Marilyn Johnson said.
And then there's Clifford Hooks.
According to court documents, he's a Louise Elementary School physical education teacher who's accused of indecency with a child.
Those same court documents indicate an elementary-age student spoke out about the alleged crime in early 2017.
Hooks was terminated in February.
The district said they're still investigating the case.
"It happens in the big cities and a lot of times here it happens but it's swept under the rug. It's never brought to light," Jenny Fields said.
According to the Wharton County District Attorney's Office, Hooks had sexual contact with a child in the gymnasium and the bathroom of the school. The child told authorities about the alleged incidents earlier this year.
Hooks was placed on administrative leave by Louise ISD about a month ago because of the investigation, the district said.
It's the second recent incident involving a teacher and a student within Louise ISD.