Former professor "taken aback" by allegations against former KIPP counselor
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A former professor of a school counselor charged with a sex crime is shocked by the allegations against her former student.
Doctor Anitra Shelton-Quinn was Brandon McElveen's professor at the University of Houston-Victoria. She said McElveen excelled in college and was ambitious. Dr. Shelton-Quinn said he was the president of the student psychology association and she worked with him on a number of projects.
She said she was shocked to hear the allegations.
"I was immediately really taken aback because I know that not to be that student's character during the time that I worked with him," said Dr. Anitra Shelton-Quinn.
McElveen, a now-former counselor at KIPP Explore Academy, is charged with indecency with a child. McElveen allegedly pulled an 8-year-old girl out of class and took her into his office for extended periods of time. The encounters allegedly happened on multiple occasions.
Charges were filed Monday, and on Wednesday evening McElveen was located and taken into custody by US Marshals in Victoria. Authorities said McElveen said he would turn himself in earlier this week. When he did not show up at the jail, US Marshalls went to arrest him. They said they located him at a relative's home.
A judge in Victoria set his bond at $50,000, which he posted Thursday and was released from custody.
According to court documents, the child knew McElveen as the school counselor, "Mr. Mack."
The child told investigators the incidents happened when she was in second grade.
She reported to police that he would touch her over and under her clothes and wouldn't stop when she told him to.
Court documents say McElveen would take the child's clothing off to reportedly check for "bites" and "lice."
The victim also reported to police that he forced her to touch his private parts.
The child's second grade, art and technology teachers reported she was taken out of class multiple times for unknown reasons.
Parents are not only concerned about the allegations, but also the school's response. Parent Chris Garza said if the child was taken out of class on a number of occasions, that should have raised a red flag.
"I think there needs to be some type of security, you know, monitoring system where there's a one-on-one basis situation," said parent Chris Garza.
Dr. Shelton-Quinn said during counseling sessions, counselors are supposed to meet one-on-one with students for confidentiality reasons.
KIPP Houston would not answer our questions about whether it's examining its policies on the heels of the allegations. They did send this statement:
"We at KIPP Houston are focused on supporting our students and families during this time. We take recent accusations against a former staff member very seriously -- the safety and well-being of our students is our top priority. Because there is an active investigation underway, the police have asked KIPP Houston not to share any information at this time. We are committed to continuing to work closely with law enforcement throughout their investigation."
