HOUSTON – A 23-year-old former teacher at YES Prep East End High School was facing charges Wednesday after investigators say he sexually assaulted a 16-year-old student.
Charges of sexual assault of a child and improper relationship between teacher and student were filed against Ajay Kumar Mangal on January 31, 2012.
Mangal taught physics at YES Prep, a charter school designed to push students from low-income homes into college.
According to court documents, Mangal befriended the victim in September of 2011, after he noticed her dancing at another teacher’s going away party.
The victim told police that she and Mangal began calling, texting and writing notes to each other.
She said they discussed the consequences of her being underage and him being a teacher, but they decided to meet outside of school on September 16, 2011.
The victim said Mangal picked her up that day and took her to eat at McDonald’s before bringing her to his apartment in Houston.
She said they had sexual contact in the apartment, then went out to buy condoms and candy. When they came back, the victim said they had sex again.
The victim’s mother told investigators that when she went out to greet her daughter as she returned home that night, Mangal drove away without speaking to her.
The mother said she checked her daughter’s phone and noticed emails from Mangal. The following day, the mother said her daughter told her about what happened at his apartment.
Investigators examined cell phone records and found 900 calls or texts between the victim and Mangal from September 8, 2011, to September 17, 2011.
Parents were shocked to find out about the allegations against Mangal.
"This is a surprise to me, completely," said Laura Magallanes, whose child attends YES Prep East End.
"I’m in shock," said Jo Desselles, another parent. "This is the first time I’m hearing about this."
"How did it happen," Dakota Blate asked. "It scares me now."
YES Prep East End’s president told KHOU 11 News that administrators immediately put Mangal on leave the moment the accusations surfaced four months ago. Mangal resigned a few days into the school’s investigation.
Administrators sent letters home to the parents of students in Mangal’s class when they launched their investigation, but they felt like they needed to wait until charges were filed to inform the rest of the student body and their parents.
Those letters went home with students on Wednesday. In the letters, school leaders said the safety and well-being of students remained top priority at YES Prep. But for some parents, the letters came too late.
"I’m in shock and I’m mad," Magallanes said.
"Where do I go from here," Blate asked. "Do I take [my daughter] out [of school]? I would think the school would be the safest place. Now look at it."
Police said Mangal was arrested in his hometown in Mississippi on Wednesday.
