TYLER, Texas — An arrest document alleges a former Tyler ISD substitute teacher touched an elementary school student inappropriately and told her sexual details about the teacher and her boyfriend’s relationship.
Karen Lamae Dunn, 48, of Tyler, is charged with improper relationship between an educator and student and aggravated sexual assault of a child, according to Smith County Jail records. She remains jailed on bonds totaling $250,000, records show.
According to the arrest affidavit, Tyler ISD Police Department Chief Danny Brown was told by a principal at the elementary school that the student said Dunn, who was serving as the substitute teacher for In School Suspension, touched the child inappropriately.
Brown said in the affidavit he learned from another principal that Dunn gave the student pieces of paper with an address later confirmed to be Dunn’s and a phone number.
The student said Dunn gave the paper after touching her inappropriately and then invited the child to her house, where Dunn and her sister would have a girls party, the affidavit said.
The document states the student at one point went into her regular classroom teacher’s room saying the child needed their phone charger, but the student said “the real reason I came here is to tell you what the ISS sub said to me.”
The student told the teacher that Dunn was talking about “stuff she does with her sister and boyfriend.” According to the student, Dunn also said if the child came over to her house, it would not hurt, the affidavit read.
Dunn had been a substitute teacher since 2016. The Human Resources Department told Tyler ISD police Dunn denied doing anything to the student and Dunn’s employment had been terminated. The HR director contacted Dunn using the number she allegedly gave the child, according to the document.
On Monday, Tyler ISD issued a statement regarding the arrest, saying Dunn, was terminated immediately and will never be allowed back in the district.
“It is inconceivable that this adult did this to one of our students,” Tyler ISD Superintendent Dr. Marty Crawford said. “Under no circumstances is that behavior tolerated at Tyler ISD. We have the fullest confidence in the legal system in Tyler and Smith County to address these charges to the fullest extent that the law will allow.”
Tyler ISD said counselors are available for students to talk. The district's letter said people with knowledge about any safety concerns are always encouraged to inform campus administration immediately.
In a statement from the affidavit, the school nurse reported Dunn wanted to go to the bathroom with the child and Dunn tried to touch her inappropriately. The nurse said the student pushed Dunn out of the way and ran to the office for help, the affidavit explained.
An office clerk recalled the student coming into the office, repeatedly asking for the staff to let the child hide. The student told the office worker that Dunn started an inappropriate conversation about Dunn and her boyfriend, according to the document.
When asked what happened to the child by a principal, Dunn said nothing happened and she chased the child because the student ran out of the classroom. Dunn was told to go directly to the Tyler ISD HR Department, the affidavit read.
Campus video showed the student going into the bathroom and Dunn following the child, leaving the other three students without an adult, the affidavit described.
A minute later, the child could be seen running out of the bathroom “fairly fast” and toward the office. Another video shows the student diving under the front counter. There are no cameras in the classroom or inside the bathrooms, the document said.
In a police interview, Dunn denied talking about her boyfriend or sister with the student. She did admit to giving her phone number and address to the child, telling the student to call her and visit. She said she knew doing so was wrong and said she had no relationship with the student outside of school, according to the affidavit.
Dunn also denied touching the student inappropriately. Dunn said she went into the bathroom because she wasn’t sure if the child really needed to go to the restroom. She denied going into the stall with the student and that the child pushed her out of the way, the affidavit stated.
According to the document, Dunn said kids “lie on teachers all the time.” She told the police chief she needed to hire a lawyer because all of the accusations are lies. Dunn left the interview after expressing her interest in a lawyer.