A former Douglas MacArthur High School math teacher has been indicted on four felony charges after a Bexar County grand jury accused him of sexually assaulting a child in February 2024. Paul Pearcy, who identified himself as a math teacher on his LinkedIn page, was arrested on Sunday and later released from Bexar County Jail after posting bonds totaling $150,000.
The grand jury indicted Pearcy on August 27 on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and two counts of indecency with a child, according to Bexar County court records cited by the San Antonio Express-News. Court records classify the alleged offenses, which reportedly occurred on February 9, 2024, as family violence offenses, though additional details about the allegations were not publicly available because grand jury proceedings remain sealed.
Pearcy taught at MacArthur High School within the North East Independent School District from 2012 to 2024, before resigning in June 2024. A district spokeswoman, Aubrey Chancellor, said North East ISD had no knowledge of any alleged wrongdoing at the time of his resignation.
Bond Conditions Bar Contact With Alleged Victim
As a condition of his release, a judge placed Pearcy on house arrest and prohibited him from contacting the alleged victim, possessing firearms, or consuming alcohol. Pretrial bail in Texas felony sex crime cases involving minors typically ranges from $100,000 to $500,000, and courts frequently impose similar protective conditions such as house arrest and GPS monitoring, according to Deandra Grant Law.
Under Texas Penal Code Section 22.021, aggravated sexual assault of a child is a first-degree felony punishable by 5 to 99 years or life in prison, along with a fine of up to $10,000 and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration upon conviction, per Varghese Summersett. The two indecency with a child counts each carry a second-degree felony classification, with a punishment range of 2 to 20 years in state prison and fines up to $10,000, as outlined by the Law Office of E. Jason Leach.
Case Emerges Amid Federal Scrutiny of District Oversight
Whether Pearcy resigned voluntarily or amid an internal probe, Texas Education Code Section 21.006 requires school district superintendents to notify the State Board for Educator Certification within seven business days of an educator's resignation or termination tied to allegations of sexual misconduct or minor abuse, according to the L&L Law Group. It remains an open question whether the alleged victim in this case was a North East ISD student, since the indictment's grand jury record is sealed.
The indictment lands as North East ISD faces broader scrutiny. In July, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights named the district as one of 20 nationwide under federal investigation over its data and procedures for handling staff sexual misconduct allegations involving students, the district's report notes. District officials have said they are cooperating with the federal probe and maintain that all allegations are thoroughly investigated.
The case also follows a string of recent personnel troubles inside the district. In May, a LEE High School teacher was arrested on a charge of improper relationship between an educator and a student, a second-degree felony. In February, a LEE High School culinary instructor resigned amid an administrative misconduct probe that was forwarded to state and local authorities, and in May a Cibolo Green Elementary School principal resigned after being arrested on an assault-family violence charge.
Massive District, Long-Tenured Educator
North East ISD is the second-largest public school district in the San Antonio metro area, serving nearly 55,000 students across 67 campuses in Bexar County. MacArthur High School, established in 1950, is the district's oldest high school campus and currently serves more than 2,000 students in grades 9 through 12 in northeast San Antonio.
Pearcy spent roughly 12 years teaching at the campus before his 2024 departure. No further details about the allegations against him have been made public, and it is not yet known when he is scheduled to appear in court.
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