CHAMBERS COUNTY, Texas – A federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed against Barbers Hill ISD and a former teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a student during her time working in the district.
Molly Colleen Spears, whom we first reported on in February, was arrested earlier this year on two counts: sexual assault of a child and improper relationship with a child.
The civil rights lawsuit, brought by the student’s parents, alleges that Spears coerced, manipulated, and raped him while she was at Barbers Hill High School.
Background
When we first reported on Spears on February 27, we had been aware of the allegations since June 2023, when Barbers Hill ISD released a statement:
“Molly Spears worked as a high school teacher for Barbers Hill ISD from August 2021 to June 2023. She resigned earlier this month. Per policy, the district will not confirm any internal investigation into any matter,” a district spokesperson wrote in an email.
At that time, no details about the nature of the allegations against Spears were made public. She was previously employed as a high school language arts teacher.
A year later, we learned that Spears was indicted by a Chambers County grand jury for an improper relationship with a student. A warrant for her arrest was issued four days later; however, Spears was not arrested until Tuesday, February 11, 2025, when her attorney said she self-surrendered to the Chambers County Jail.
New details
Now, more than four months later, disturbing new details have emerged about what exactly happened between Spears and the student.
According to the lawsuit, the relationship began in the fall of 2022, when Spears was teaching 9th-grade English. The lawsuit describes that while other students faced the projector during class, the student victim was placed at the back of the room, close to Spears and facing her desk, facilitating easier communication.
Despite failing to complete assignments, the student reportedly always received passing grades and often skipped his baseball class to spend time with Spears in her classroom.
After skipping baseball around ten times to visit Spears, the student said he and Spears had their first sexual encounter, which escalated the relationship and led to them texting each other.
The lawsuit claims Spears and the student had “rules” about how to speak on the phone to avoid suspicion or getting caught. They allegedly avoided discussing anything sexual over the phone.
The lawsuit details multiple sexual encounters between Spears and the student, including in the classroom closet and near the student’s parents’ home.
We also learned that communication between Spears and the student increased and became more open over time, resulting in the student eventually confiding in his father about the encounters.
According to the lawsuit, the father told his son to stop communicating with Spears and notified the school about the situation.
When the student returned to school in 2023, the lawsuit alleges he was teased and bullied about his relationship with Spears, causing him to withdraw from BHISD.
The lawsuit further alleges that BHISD failed to report the abuse once they became aware of it and did not intervene or investigate the claims.
The student has reportedly suffered physical, emotional, and financial harm as a result of the abuse by Spears.