Creekview High theater teacher arrested on child grooming charge, police say

Carrollton police arrested Creekview High theater teacher Kolby Campbell on March 28 and charged him with child grooming, a third-degree felony tied to alleged conduct dating to August 2024. Campbell, who had worked in Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD since 2020, was booked into the Denton County Jail and later released the same day on a $25,000 surety bond with conditions.

The case lands hard inside a district that is already dealing with a second criminal case involving a former educator this month. Miguel Caban-Mendez, a former ESL teacher at DeWitt Perry Middle School, was arrested March 4 on a charge of improper relationship with a student and other offenses. FOX 4 reported that Caban-Mendez was placed on administrative leave and then resigned. An affidavit described by FOX 4 says a student told investigators he touched her inappropriately and offered her and other female students foot massages.

For Creekview parents, the immediate concern is not just the arrest itself but what the district knew, when it knew it, and how quickly families were told once allegations surfaced. Creekview High sits at 3201 Old Denton Rd. in Carrollton, while DeWitt Perry Middle School is at 1709 Belt Line Rd. in Carrollton, underscoring that both cases involved employees working directly with students in the same school system.

Texas Penal Code Section 15.032 defines child grooming as knowingly persuading, inducing, enticing or coercing a child younger than 18 to engage in conduct that would be a sexual offense, and it is generally a third-degree felony. Texas law separately makes improper relationship between educator and student a criminal offense. The Texas Education Agency also says grooming behaviors and sexual misconduct allegations are subject to mandatory reporting, a standard that puts a premium on fast notification, documentation and coordination with law enforcement.

The district now faces more than one test at once: protecting students on campus, answering questions from families and showing that warning signs are reported without delay. The criminal investigation belongs to Carrollton police, but the school-side fallout is already broadening across Collin County and Denton County as parents weigh how a teacher who had been in the district for years came under police scrutiny.