Three students who once played football and basketball together at a private school in west Houston are now facing sexual assault charges after younger teammates described months of abuse inside locker rooms, bathrooms and showers. Landon Bennett, 18, and Jace Burrell, 17, were each charged with three counts of sexual assault of a child, while Liam Mischner, 19, was charged with two counts, according to the Houston Chronicle.
According to the Houston Chronicle, prosecutors charged all three with sexual assault of a child between the ages of 14 and 17. The alleged assaults reportedly occurred inside locker rooms and bathrooms between September 2025 and March 2026, unfolding among younger classmates who played alongside the older students on the school's football and basketball teams.
Bennett was arrested Monday, and Mischner posted $25,000 bail, the Chronicle reports. As of Monday afternoon, Burrell had not been arrested. Mischner's attorney, Chris Tritico, told the paper that the teens were asked to leave the school after the allegations surfaced.
How the Allegations Came to Light
The case became public after a witness made an outcry to the school's athletic director in April, as noted by the Houston Chronicle. The athletic director reported the allegation to a Harris County Precinct 5 deputy constable that same day, and the Houston Police Department opened a follow-up investigation in May.
Investigators ultimately interviewed five students about the alleged abuse, including two complainants and three witnesses, per the same account. Police were told there might be additional complainants, but that some children were unwilling to come forward.
Accounts From Younger Teammates
One younger boy told authorities that Bennett and Mischner pinned him against a wall and lifted him off the ground on two occasions, while Burrell allegedly penetrated him with his fingers, the Chronicle reported. Another boy accused Bennett and Burrell of similarly penetrating him. The alleged assaults reportedly occurred before sports practices and a game.
Other students described a pattern of harassment tied to the locker room and showers. Per the Chronicle's reporting, Bennett allegedly dragged a boy from a bathroom stall, rubbed his penis on a student while showering, and forcibly grabbed a towel to expose himself to others in the locker room. Bennett and Burrell were also accused of pushing a nude Burrell into other boys, making a victim sit at the back of a bus, touching a victim's legs and pulling his leg hair, and threatening a complainant with rape or assault if he reported the abuse.
Students separately complained about being smacked on the bare buttocks, and a witness said the abuse occurred every morning in the showers, according to the same report. One boy reportedly entered the shower while still wearing his underwear, and at least one boy said he began changing clothes in his vehicle because he was scared to be in the locker room.
School Says Students Were Removed Last Spring
Lisa Landi, The Briarwood School's interim administrator, said the accused students were removed from campus last spring and were not permitted to return, per a report from the Houston Chronicle. The Briarwood School is a private school in west Houston's Memorial area that enrolls students with learning disabilities, including dyslexia and ADHD.
“We do not tolerate behavior by any student that compromises the safety or well-being of another student,” Landi said, according to the same source. She added that the school is cooperating with law enforcement. The charging document itself does not name the school where the alleged abuse happened, though an address for The Briarwood School was associated with a police report stemming from the case, the Chronicle noted.
Separately, Click2Houston reported that court records described at least two students at The Briarwood School as having been sexually assaulted and harassed in locker rooms and other school-related settings during the 2025–26 school year, and that all three accused students were removed from campus once the allegations came to light. A similar account identifying the three defendants and the same September 2025 to March 2026 timeframe was also carried by Yahoo News.
Under Texas law, sexual assault of a child is a second-degree felony for victims between 14 and 16, carrying a punishment of between two and 20 years in prison, the Chronicle reported. Bennett reportedly plans to join the U.S. Army in the coming weeks, according to the same source.
