A Texas-based Mormon church leader, who also is an English high school teacher, was charged Thursday with engaging in lewd conduct with underage boys during naked "sex parties" at his home. The educator recently was voted "Teacher of the Year" by his peers.
Police indicated Jared Anderson, 28, played games with up to 10 teenage boys during the parties and coerced the boys to engage in sexual acts with each other and with him, according to Fox 29 San Antonio.
Police Sgt. Jesse Salome said Anderson held a series of what he called "bros night" parties at his home, reports News Radio 1200 WOAI. Salome said the boys and Anderson stripped naked, and Anderson instructed them to commit sex acts on each other and on him.
Police stated the boys were "instructed to crawl around naked and touch each other, place their genitals on another boy's face and that the suspect's mouth came in contact with a boy's genitals." The police report also indicated at one point that "Anderson challenged a 17-year-old to see who can be the most obscene."
The charges included a sexual performance of a child and indecency with a child, KENS-TV reports.
Police have stated Anderson held one party with seven boys, between the ages of 15 and 17, on Feb. 12. There was a sign on the door that said, "The last one to strip naked loses," Fox 29 San Antonio reported.
He is also alleged to have exchanged lewd texts with a 17-year-old. The parents of some of the boys reported showed detectives examples of apologies Anderson allegedly sent to them in texts.
Anderson was arrested Wednesday. He had been teaching at Judson High School in San Antonio, starting two years ago. Police declined to say if any of the alleged victims were his students.
"This all stems from a report that came in where two victims presented themselves over at one of the substations and reported that this individual had hosted them for some parties at his house," San Antonio Police Sgt. Jesse Salame told the San Antonio Express-News.
Anderson was jailed on two counts, and was being held on bail totaling $150,000, reports Fox News.
The Judson school district placed the teacher on administration leave, pending the results of an investigation being conducted by San Antonio Police of allegations of sexual misconduct.
Anderson also is charged with urging the boys to "send pictures of their genitals" to him and to each other, reported WOAI Radio. The station indicated police said "numerous additional charges" are expected against Anderson, including sexual assault of a child and possession of child pornography.
On the school's Facebook page, one commenter, Valerie Lynn Martinez, said she can't believe this ... "how sick can you be?!?! And we're supposed to go to work trusting that we are leaving our kids in "GOOD" hands, yeah right!!!"
