Southwest
Texas teacher accused of having sex with student, giving perfect scores, test answers
A Houston science teacher allegedly gave test answers and perfect grades to his student during their months-long sexual relationship, a criminal complaint revealed.
Spring Branch Independent School District teacher Stephen Griffin, 46, is facing felony charges for an improper relationship with an 18-year-old student, according to a complaint filed in Harris County District Court last month. He has been released on $5,000 bond since his Dec. 7 arrest, court records show.
“There’s been no evidence of this whatsoever and we deny the charges,” his attorney, Justin Harris, told Fox News Digital on Monday. “Mr. Griffin has been a model teacher throughout his career and this has blindsided everybody. We have some trails that we’re going down that might explain where these allegations might be coming from.
“Generally when these things happen, what you read in complaints and what actually ends up happening are usually night and day from each other. They’re on the same planet, but they’re different parts of the same day. We’re waiting to see the evidence in the case. At this time it’s just allegations. If you believe the state’s allegations on their face, this is not a sexual assault case – this was a consensual act between two adults.”
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Stephen Griffin, 46, faces a felony charge for having a sexual relationship with his 18-year-old student, the Spring Branch ISD Police Department said.
Griffin’s 18-year-old student told Spring Branch ISD Police that she would meet her science teacher at a hotel and, later, at his apartment in the 2022 and 2023 school year.
The teacher was working at Memorial High School at the time and in the process of divorcing his wife, according to the complaint.
Texas Penal Code 21.12 classifies an improper relationship between an educator and student as a second-degree felony, whether the student victim is legally a minor. It is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
The student’s mother reportedly brought their relationship to administrators’ attention around Nov. 30, according to the complaint. Her daughter would share incriminating text messages between herself and Griffin with Spring Branch ISD Police later that day.
About a year earlier, on Sept. 23, 2022, the unnamed female student emailed Griffin asking to eat lunch in his classroom during his off period. The teacher emailed her his personal cellphone number after the meeting, telling her they had “similar backgrounds” and that he was available if she ever needed help or someone to confide in.
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A digital forensic investigator with the Spring Branch ISD Police Department reviewed texts and photos on the student’s phone that confirmed her relationship with 46-year-old science teacher Stephen Griffin. (Google Maps)
The pair texted back and forth for a few months, the complaint shows. In November, the student met with Griffin at the Staybridge Suites Hotel, where they had sex, according to the complaint.
They would continue to meet there, she told police, and once exchanged oral sex in his classroom. On one occasion, she and Griffin allegedly had sex in the back of her car behind a restaurant in Houston.
At that point, the student recalled, the teacher began giving her test answers in advance and 100% scores on all of her assignments. Griffin allegedly gifted her his gray staff jacket and a candle that smelled like his cologne.
Their relationship ended midsummer 2023, the student said – Griffin allegedly told her to stop contacting him because he was trying to reconcile with his wife.
A Spring Branch ISD digital forensic technician then took the student’s phone to scour her Snapchat and Signal accounts for correspondence with Griffin.
The complaint showed one Snapchat message from Griffin on an unknown date read: “We need to talk. I miss you. Can we talk? I’m suicidal right now. Call me. Ok babe. This is how it’s going to be? Don’t do this, call me. Can we talk in person? Want money? I’m about to kill myself. Please call me.”
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It is unclear whether Griffin is still employed by Memorial High School – he is still listed in the school’s online staff directory as of Jan. 8. (Google Maps)
It is unclear whether Griffin is still employed at Memorial High School – his name is still listed in the school’s staff directory on its website.
Griffin’s employment status was not immediately available from Spring Branch ISD officials.
“(This is) a personnel matter involving a criminal investigation. The district cannot confirm the identity of individuals involved at this time,” Spring Branch ISD told ABC 13 last month.
Griffin’s next court date is scheduled for Feb. 28, per online court records.
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A man armed with a knife was shot by L.A. police officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call overnight, authorities said.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers with the Hollenbeck Division responded to an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Glenn Avenue in Boyle Heights at 1:45 a.m. Saturday after callers reported a male suspect was armed with a knife and had just assaulted someone in the complex.
Arriving officers found the suspect in front of the residence, but he did not comply with officers’ commands to drop the weapon. He then advanced toward the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred, LAPD confirmed.
“The suspect was struck by gunfire and remained non-compliant,” the LAPD Public Information Officer said on X early Saturday morning. “Officers deployed a 40mm foam round and ultimately took the suspect into custody.”
Video obtained by KTLA shows the man being loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital; officials said he was transported in stable condition, adding that his knife was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence.
No officers or community members were injured during the incident. The man’s name was not released.
Dangerous rip currents and high surf are forecast for Los Angeles County beaches, including the Malibu Coast this weekend.
The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous beach statement, warning of the potentially deadly beach conditions. The dangerous conditions are forecast to last from Saturday evening to Monday morning.
“There is an increased risk of ocean drowning,” the NWS forecast reads. “Rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Waves can wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats nearshore.”
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A guide to surviving rip currents from the National Weather Service (NWS)
Minor Beach erosion and coastal flooding is possible through the weekend. The flooding is most likely to occur during evening high tides from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Beachgoers are advised to stay out of the water and remain near lifeguard towers. Jetties and tidepools are also especially dangerous during the weekend forecast.
“Rock jetties can be deadly in such conditions, stay off the rocks,” the NWS forecast reads.
Similar hazardous beach conditions are also in the forecast for Santa Barbara County. A high surf advisory is also in effect for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties this weekend, where 10 to 15-foot waves will be possible.
If you live or want to live in Los Angeles, the city controller has released a new dashboard highlighting some of the city’s most notorious problem rental properties, a tool designed to help renters avoid future headaches.
“This project comes at a time when tenants are reporting harassment and illegal evictions violating the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance and Tenant Anti‑Harassment Ordinance, but very few of the complaints end up leading to strong enforcement or real accountability,” L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia said in a media release Thursday.
The new Top 100 Problem Rental Properties dashboard includes a searchable database of all residential addresses with reported housing violation cases within the city of Los Angeles, a ranked list of the 100 addresses with the most violations and an interactive map.
“There has never before been an uncomplicated way for anyone to look up years’ worth of violations by address,” Mejia said in the release.
Data for the dashboard was compiled from multiple sources, including the Los Angeles Housing Department, Los Angeles City Planning and the L.A. County Assessor’s Office, according to the controller’s office.
The release also identified the top three addresses with the highest number of reported housing violations:
1. 636 1/2 North Hill Place, Chinatown
192 housing violation cases
2. 11700 West Wilshire Boulevard, Sawtelle
166 housing violation cases
3. 6650 West Forest Lawn Drive, Hollywood Hills
113 housing violation cases
“Our new dashboard is an easy‑to‑understand public tool that we hope will help renters and organizers document patterns of harm, as well as put pressure on both landlords and the City to act,” Mejia said. “Everyone deserves safe, stable and dignified housing.”
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