ATLANTA, Texas — A former East Texas coach and teacher was sentenced to 60 years in prison for touching students inappropriately and requesting sexually explicit photos from Snapchat.
Taureaus Alvaro Maxwell, 31, a former teacher and coach at Atlanta ISD, was convicted of four counts of indecency with a child by contact and four counts of improper relationship between educator on Friday following a jury trial. Jurors ultimately assessed his punishment to be 20 years for each charge, which is the maximum sentence. He will also have to pay a $10,000 fine for each offense.
The judge ordered that three of his indecency with a child sentences be served one after the other for a total of 60 years. The other sentences will be served during those 60 years, according to the Cass County District Attorney's Office.
Jurors deliberated for about nine hours on 13 charges, and they found him guilty of eight charges, the DA's Office said. It took them about an hour to hand down his punishment.
In April 2023, two students told administration about Maxwell sexually abusing them and asking for sexually explicit photos from them via Snapchat, according to evidence presented in court.
During the punishment phase of the trial, the prosecution showed that Maxwell received three complaints regarding sexually inappropriate behavior while he was a probation officer for Bowie County Community Supervision Office in 2021. His supervisor said that Maxwell continued to conduct urinalysis testing despite not being allowed to do so. He was fired from the job in June 2021.
Further evidence from the prosecution showed that Maxwell lied on his employment application for Atlanta ISD.
“This case would have never been brought to light if it hadn’t been for the persistence of CPS Special Investigator Judie Townsend. We are extremely grateful for her tenacity and courage in stepping up to protect the students of Atlanta High School,” said Cass County Criminal District Attorney Courtney Shelton. “We are also thankful to Investigator Sabrina Sartor with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office for her willingness to step into this investigation late in the process and preserve as much evidence as possible. Additionally, we are appreciative of the Texarkana Children’s Advocacy Center for their assistance in this case."
Shelton added that the students showed great courage to stand up against Maxwell.