azathoth777
08-14-2006, 08:01 PM
BEAUMONT - An Ozen High School employee will be suspended with pay pending the disposition of a sexual assault charge against him.
Beaumont Independent School District spokeswoman Jolene Ortego said whether or not an employee can return to his or her position after being indicted depends on the outcome of the case.
Tommy Floyd Granger, a 42-year-old instructional assistant, was indicted Thursday along with a former Ozen student on charges connected to the operation of a sex ring that police believe might have been operating on the high school campus in 2001.
Also indicted was 25-year-old Byron Aaron Bell, who is accused of the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl.
Granger is accused of indecency with a child.
The victim, who was 14 years old at the time, told Detective John Boles of the Beaumont Police Department she had consensual sexual contact with the suspects Dec. 31, 2001, in the Ozen field house.
She said she was involved in a group known as the "Kutchie Kissing Klique," whose main objective was to provide senior football players with freshman and sophomore girls for sex.
Boles said his "gut feeling" is that there are more victims and more perpetrators.
As of Friday afternoon, neither Granger nor Bell had been arrested.
Granger has been a full-time BISD employee since 1999, at one time holding the position of assistant football coach, Ortego said.
He also was employed by the city of Beaumont as a part-time, temporary pool manager, according to city personnel records.
City Manager Kyle Hayes said Granger was terminated Friday because of the indictment.
Some present Ozen students said they were familiar with the group, but said they didn't think it was a big deal.
Zach Randall, 16, said he's heard talk of the alleged sex ring, but he doesn't believe it.
"It's just rumors and gossip," Randall said, chalking the loose talk up to "girls who don't know what else to do with themselves."
Randall said Granger is well-liked at the school, and that he often went to him for advice and guidance.
"He's a good coach and a good person to talk to if you don't have a father figure to turn to," Randall said.
Randall said he'd heard of the group, but thought it wasn't around campus anymore.
One female sophomore who did not want to give her name said the club was just a group of friends who got together to throw parties.
She said she'd been to some of the parties, and they were perfectly normal.
"They play music and everybody dances," she said.
Granger has no prior criminal record.
Bell is on deferred probation on two charges of animal cruelty and two charges of dog fighting stemming from a November 2004 arrest.
Bell's most recent recorded interaction with the probation department was a June 27 administrative hearing where he was found to be behind in monthly payment of probation fees and fines. He also had not completed his community service as ordered by the court.
At the time, Bell was directed to increase his monthly payments and perform additional community service.
Beaumont Independent School District spokeswoman Jolene Ortego said whether or not an employee can return to his or her position after being indicted depends on the outcome of the case.
Tommy Floyd Granger, a 42-year-old instructional assistant, was indicted Thursday along with a former Ozen student on charges connected to the operation of a sex ring that police believe might have been operating on the high school campus in 2001.
Also indicted was 25-year-old Byron Aaron Bell, who is accused of the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl.
Granger is accused of indecency with a child.
The victim, who was 14 years old at the time, told Detective John Boles of the Beaumont Police Department she had consensual sexual contact with the suspects Dec. 31, 2001, in the Ozen field house.
She said she was involved in a group known as the "Kutchie Kissing Klique," whose main objective was to provide senior football players with freshman and sophomore girls for sex.
Boles said his "gut feeling" is that there are more victims and more perpetrators.
As of Friday afternoon, neither Granger nor Bell had been arrested.
Granger has been a full-time BISD employee since 1999, at one time holding the position of assistant football coach, Ortego said.
He also was employed by the city of Beaumont as a part-time, temporary pool manager, according to city personnel records.
City Manager Kyle Hayes said Granger was terminated Friday because of the indictment.
Some present Ozen students said they were familiar with the group, but said they didn't think it was a big deal.
Zach Randall, 16, said he's heard talk of the alleged sex ring, but he doesn't believe it.
"It's just rumors and gossip," Randall said, chalking the loose talk up to "girls who don't know what else to do with themselves."
Randall said Granger is well-liked at the school, and that he often went to him for advice and guidance.
"He's a good coach and a good person to talk to if you don't have a father figure to turn to," Randall said.
Randall said he'd heard of the group, but thought it wasn't around campus anymore.
One female sophomore who did not want to give her name said the club was just a group of friends who got together to throw parties.
She said she'd been to some of the parties, and they were perfectly normal.
"They play music and everybody dances," she said.
Granger has no prior criminal record.
Bell is on deferred probation on two charges of animal cruelty and two charges of dog fighting stemming from a November 2004 arrest.
Bell's most recent recorded interaction with the probation department was a June 27 administrative hearing where he was found to be behind in monthly payment of probation fees and fines. He also had not completed his community service as ordered by the court.
At the time, Bell was directed to increase his monthly payments and perform additional community service.