Berkner High School Teacher Arrested on Felony Online Solicitation Charge

A Berkner High School science teacher has been arrested on a third-degree felony charge of online solicitation of a minor, and Richardson ISD has placed him on administrative leave while police continue investigating. Michael Ralph Fouse, 41, was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Richardson Jail with bond set at $20,000.

According to FOX 4 News, Richardson police began investigating Fouse last Thursday after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children that initiated the case. Investigators later executed arrest and search warrants at Fouse's Richardson home, and the station reports the investigation remains ongoing. Fouse had worked as a physical science teacher at Berkner High School for six years and had held a Texas teaching certificate since 2020, according to Texas Scorecard.

District Says It Reported Arrest to State Regulators

Richardson ISD said it could not share further details because the case is both an ongoing criminal investigation and a personnel matter, per the FOX 4 report. The district said the safety and well-being of students is its highest priority and that it takes allegations that could compromise student safety extremely seriously. District administrators notified parents that Richardson ISD immediately reported Fouse's arrest to the Texas Education Agency, Texas Scorecard notes, and the district said it is cooperating with the police investigation and will take appropriate action based on the findings.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children operates the congressionally mandated CyberTipline, which processes reports of suspected online child sexual exploitation from technology providers and the public before referring leads to local police departments, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. It remains unclear, per open questions in the case, whether the alleged solicitation involved any current or former Richardson ISD students or what electronic platforms were involved in the tip that reached Richardson police.

Charge Carries Mandatory Registration If Convicted

Online solicitation of a minor is a third-degree felony in Texas, punishable by two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, according to the Collin County Law Group. The charge can be enhanced to a second-degree felony if the minor is believed to be under 14 years old. A conviction under the statute also requires mandatory lifetime sex offender registration under Chapter 62 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, per Deandra Grant Law.

Richardson police have asked anyone with information about the case to contact them at 972-744-4893.

Second Berkner Educator Arrested Within Weeks

Fouse's arrest comes just over two weeks after a separate case involving another Berkner High School educator. On August 11, retired speech teacher and girls' soccer coach Charles Ray “Chuck” Brandon was arrested on charges of possessing child sexual abuse material, according to Texas Scorecard's report on the earlier case. Brandon had previously faced a similar charge in 2023, per the same outlet.

The back-to-back arrests land amid a broader regional push on educator misconduct. Last Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas launched Project Safe Schools, a joint federal-state initiative aimed at prosecuting school districts and staff that conceal misconduct or fail to report abuse, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Texas Education Agency data released this month showed the state received more than 18,000 educator misconduct reports during the 2025–2026 fiscal year, opening an average of 1,118 investigations per month, Texas Scorecard reported.

Richardson ISD has faced other recent scrutiny, including a lawsuit over a disabled teen's 90-day program placement, per Hoodline. Fouse's case is not the only recent North Texas educator arrest on felony child sex crime allegations; a Grand Prairie teacher was similarly arrested earlier this month in Duncanville. No further details about Fouse's case have been released as the criminal investigation and the district's personnel review continue.