Mark Steven West, Spring, Texas (arrested Mar 2013)

Discussion in 'Tomcats' started by TMP, Mar 14, 2013.

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    West Mark Steven.jpg

    Mark Steven West, 30, assistant principal at Spring High School, Spring ISD, Spring, Texas, "improper relationaship with a student"

    Mugshots.com: Mark West

    LinkedIn: Mark West

    My Fox Houston: Former assistant principal charged in improper relationship (Mar 11 2013)

    A former Spring Independent School District assistant principal could soon find himself behind bars for a relationship with a student, FOX 26 News has learned ... He served as assistant principal at Spring High until resigning last week. West is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student at the school back in 2012 ... West's case has been turned over to the Harris County District Attorney for prosecution.

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    Mark Steven West, Spring, Texas, Spring High School, Spring ISD
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    Spring ISD letter to parents (courtesy My Fox Houston):

    Good Morning Spring High Parents, This is Principal Donna Ullrich. In February, I communicated by phone and email that allegations against a Spring High School employee were being investigated by the Spring ISD Police Department and results of the investigation would be shared with you when it was completed. I am now able to share the results of that investigation. In February, the Spring ISD Police Department began investigating a recent report of an alleged improper relationship between former Spring High School Assistant Principal Mark West and a former Spring High School student. An incident allegedly occurred in May 2012 when the student was attending Spring High School. Mr. West has been on administrative leave during the investigation and resigned his position effective March 8, 2013. The Spring ISD Police Department submitted results of the investigation to the Harris County District Attorney's office. The DA's office accepted charges today, March 11, 2013, against Mr. West for Improper Relationship Between Educator and Student, which is a second-degree felony. I want to assure you that the safety of our students is of the highest importance at Spring High School. The criminal history and references of job applicants are routinely checked before they are hired. The administration at Spring High School takes every allegation seriously and will conduct a thorough investigation and expose inappropriate behavior when necessary. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me. We will return from Spring Break on March 18.
     
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    Click 2 Houston: Assistant principal accused of having relationship with student - Ex-Spring High School Assistant Principal Mark West charged with felony (Mar 11 2013)

    A former assistant high school principal has been accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student ... Spring High School principal Donna Ullrich said school district police began investigating West in February. He has been accused of having an improper relationship with a student in May 2012. West was placed on administrative leave once the investigation began and he resigned from his position on Friday, Ullrich said.
     
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    Houston Chronicle: Spring High educator accused of having sex with student (Mar 12 2013)

    During the 2011-2012 school year, high school administrators began to investigate West after suggestions surfaced of inappropriate relationships with students, according to a criminal complaint. Young women were seen laughing and smiling, with their disheveled hair and clothing as they left "closed-door meetings" in his office, the document said. Spring ISD police last year began to investigate an allegation that West had inappropriately touched a female student, but no criminal charges were filed because of a lack of evidence, according to the complaint. School administrators told West to stop behavior that involved any physical contact with students, officials said. The associate principal told West in December to stop having closed-door meetings with female students. In January, Spring High School Principal Donna Ullrich told him that staff members and students continued to complain about his inappropriate behavior with students, records show. The school's office secretary told investigators she was uncomfortable with the amount of time West spent behind closed doors with the teenage girls. Investigators eventually connected a name with the allegations and tracked down a teenager who is now attending college. The former student told investigators that when she was a senior, she had sex with West in his office during a prom event.
     
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    ABC Local KTRK: Spring High School assistant principal accused of improper relationship with student (Mar 12 2013)

    An assistant principal at Spring High School has resigned after being accused of an improper relationship with a student. The school district sent a letter home to parents, letting them know that Assistant Principal Mark West was put on administrative leave during an investigation that began last month, but then West resigned Friday. The alleged incident happened in May of last year with a now-former student who was attending the high school at the time.

    ABC Local: Mark Steven West [Video]
     
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    WFAA: Police: Spring ISD assistant principal had sex with student at prom event (Mar 12 2013)

    School officials were tipped off to the allegations after hearing rumors and seeing inappropriate interactions between West and certain students, according to court documents. The associate principal spoke to West in December 2012 after administrators heard that he made a sexual remark about one female student and possibly had sex with a another. West was also investigated in the 2011-2012 school year for inappropriately touching a female student on her lower back, but no charges were filed due to lack of evidence. He was ordered by the administration not to have any contact with female students.
    The allegations against West by staff members and students cropped up again in January of this year.

    One staff member said she was extremely uncomfortable by the number of lengthy “closed door meetings” West was having with female students. The staff member said she observed students leaving his office, smiling and laughing, with their clothes and hair disheveled. She also saw West “body slam” a female student, in a playful manner, on a couch in the lobby office.

    Students told investigators about rumors that West had sex with a student at the 2012 Project Prom event. They questioned the young woman at the woman at the center of the allegation, who is now in college. She told investigators that she came on to West first and that he initially refused her advances, according to court documents. The former student said on May 12, 2012, she attended the Project Prom event held at Spring High School. She said she started to flirt and talk with West, allegedly telling him that she “was horny and wanted to have sex with him.” The young woman said she continued her advances until he agreed to meet her in his upstairs office. Once alone, the two of them began to kiss and then had sex, investigators said.
     
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    ABC Local KTRK: DA: Spring High School assistant principal had sex with student in his office during prom (Mar 13 2013)

    But court documents detail that Spring ISD administrators had been concerned about West's behavior around female students for months. In one incident, West was accused of touching a girl above her lower back inappropriately. That case didn't result in criminal charges due to a lack of evidence. The school's principal said at that time, West "was instructed by administrators to discontinue all behavior that involved physical contact with female students." West's secretary also had concerns. She told police she "...observed and was uncomfortable with the amount of time [West] spent behind closed doors with female students." The woman told investigators she "observed female students exit [West's] office with their hair and clothing disheveled, and the female students would be smiling and laughing." West, 30, was charged Monday with improper relationship with a student.
     
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    ESPN: Assistant Principal Arrested for Allegedly Having Sex with Student (Mar 13 2013)

    Assistant Principal Mark West was arrested Monday, accused of having sex with a student in his office while prom was taking place on campus last May ... The incident at prom was brought to the attention of investigators when they interviewed the former student who was said to have been involved. West has been charged with having an improper relationship with a student and has posted $30,000 bail.

    Go Watertown: Assistant Principal Arrested for Allegedly Having Sex with Student (Mar 13 2013)
     
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    New York Daily News: Texas assistant principal busted for having sex with underage student during prom - Mark West, 30, had sex with the high school student in his office after she said ‘she was horny’: police (Mar 14 2013)

    Mark West, 30, is accused of having sex with the Spring High School teen - who is now at college - after she told him "she was horny" at the event last May. ABC reports that a student witness contacted cops after seeing West, who is said to have initially turned down the girl's flirtatious advances, telling her to meet him in his office. The witness then reported seeing the pair having sex.