16-year-old blackmailed middle school teacher over their sexual relationship, Texas police say

A middle school teacher was arrested over her inappropriate interactions with a 16-year-old boy in juvenile corrections in Galveston, according to Texas police.

46-year-old Kristi Hanks of La Marque allegedly sparked the relationship with the boy while working at the Galveston County Juvenile Justice Center.

'I'd rather be dead than them know that I was a pedophile ... since you like to throw that in my face.'

The sheriff's office said officials were contacted by the juvenile center after they expressed concern about her relationship to the boy.

Investigators gathered evidence that included material evidence, interviews with several individuals, and statements from Hanks.

The victim allegedly told investigators he got in trouble after writing in a book that Hanks had a "big butt." The teacher, however, told him she took it as a compliment and they exchanged phone numbers.

The graphic calls between the two included them exposing themselves, police said.

He also told police that he met Hanks twice at a park for sex but that she got scared and "left before the sexual acts were done."

Hanks would also allegedly rub her clothed genitals against his arm at school.

He threatened to expose the relationship and demanded that she buy him a gun and give him $2,000. She complied and later reported the gun stolen.

Police say she was still texting the boy when she was arrested on Aug. 19 during a traffic stop near her home.

"I just cleaned out my bank account for you," read one of the alleged texts.

"I'd rather be dead than them know that I was a pedophile ... since you like to throw that in my face," she wrote in another text.

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The Galveston County District Attorney’s Office determined there was enough probable cause to charge the teacher with an improper relationship between educator and student. Prosecutors also recommended a $100,000 bond.

The district said Hanks was placed on administrative leave as soon as officials were made aware of the allegations. A profile page for her still exists at the Dunbar Middle School, where she says she's a fifth-grade social studies teacher and got engaged during the COVID pandemic.

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