A former design teacher from Tanglewood Middle School in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) has been charged with multiple felonies in relation to alleged sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old student. Dale Vanwright, 63, is facing serious legal repercussions after being accused of engaging in explicit video calls with the underage student and fondling her on at least one occasion. According to a statement obtained by ABC13, Vanwright was back in court Monday but has already bonded out of jail over the weekend.
Details from the court documents reveal that the 14-year-old girl involved was initially in a relationship with one of Vanwright's relatives, also a student at Tanglewood. Vanwright allegedly began to inappropriately communicate with her after school hours via video call. One such instance escalated to him asking her to expose herself, as prosecutors claim, and stating, "if his relative couldn't please her, that he could." These alleged acts, including an incident where he is accused of committing indecent acts in his truck, have led to charges including improper relationship with a student and indecency with a child.
Vanwright's conduct came to light following statements from the student, who reported these activities to authorities. As Click2Houston reports, Vanwright is also accused of acting improperly with another student, leading to his suspension in March. His current total bond has been set at $150,000, reflective of the severity of the allegations.
While admission of the non-physical communication on the phone has been made by Vanwright, he denies any physical wrongdoing. The Harris County Children’s Assessment Center conducted a forensic interview on June 6, in which the girl detailed Vanwright's alleged requests on FaceTime and recalled the May 8 incident said to have occurred in a parking lot. HISD has since issued a response regarding the situation, conveying that Vanwright "is no longer employed with HISD effective June 7, 2024" and emphasizing that he has not had contact with students in any HISD facility since then.
