GALVESTON, Texas — A U.S. Army recruiter has been charged with touching female students in an offensive manner, Galveston school district police said.
The 36-year-old man, who had been recruiting students at two Galveston high schools, was arrested and charged in May with two counts of assault by contact. The offense is a Class C misdemeanor, the equivalent of a traffic ticket.
It is a policy of The Daily News to withhold the names of suspects charged with misdemeanor crimes.
The Houston man was arrested May 21, booked into Galveston County Jail and released on $1,000 bond, Galveston County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo said.
The Army recruiting battalion in Houston is investigating the allegations against the recruiter, the battalion’s executive officer, Maj. Nate Bollinger, said. Though the recruiter still is based in Galveston, he was suspended from visiting campuses after the allegations were brought to the attention of Houston battalion officials, Bollinger said.
Galveston school district Police Chief LeeRoy Amador said several teenage girls at the Accelerated Instructional Model High School complained to a teacher May 5 that the recruiter flirted with them and shared "graphic details of a sexual nature of his personal life."
The teacher reported the complaints to the high school principal, who reported them to Galveston police.
As police officers investigated the allegations, they discovered five girls, ages 16 to 18, had similar complaints, Amador said. The police also discovered in the course of the investigation that the girls alleged the recruiter invited them to the U.S. Army recruiting office at 61st Street and Stewart Road on different days and touched them in a manner they found offensive, Amador said.
Amador said he delayed releasing the information about the arrest because he wanted to make sure the investigation was complete and no other recruiters were involved.
Bollinger said the recruiter has worked in Galveston for four years.
"We take all allegations like this extremely seriously," he said. "We investigate them. We do whatever we need to do to restore the trust and faith of the people we serve."
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