Humble ISD teacher arrested in child indecency case tied to prior school job

A Humble ISD theater arts teacher was jailed Friday on an indecency with a child charge that investigators said reached back to his work at a New Caney ISD middle school five years ago. Garrett Cross, 38, was still listed as an inmate Saturday morning in Montgomery County.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said the allegation stems from Cross’s time at Pine Valley Middle School in New Caney ISD, where investigators said the case grew out of older conduct rather than a new complaint at his current campus. Deputies asked anyone with information or possible victimization to contact investigators, a sign they believe the case could extend beyond a single student or a single incident.

Cross had been employed by Humble Independent School District as the theater arts teacher at Kingwood Middle School from August 2025 until December 2025, according to district details cited by local television reports. Kingwood Middle School principal Michael Curl said Cross previously held the same theater arts position at Timberwood Middle School for three school years, and Curl said Cross worked for New Caney ISD from 2011 to 2022. Humble ISD placed Cross on administrative leave in December and said he was not allowed on campus during the spring 2026 semester before he resigned on May 5, 2026.

The arrest now leaves parents in Humble, Kingwood, New Caney and across Harris County and Montgomery County asking what each district knew, when it knew it, and whether Cross had classroom access after concerns surfaced. It also raises a harder question for families whose children may have crossed paths with him years ago: how many students were ever told to come forward, and how many stayed silent because the conduct never became public until now.

Texas education rules put those questions squarely on district administrators. The Texas Education Agency said on June 26, 2025, that SB 571 created new misconduct reporting requirements in Chapter 22A of the Texas Education Code, and HB 4623 took effect Sept. 1, 2025, creating civil liability for public schools and professional school employees in sexual misconduct cases involving students. Under Texas Education Code Section 21.006, superintendents must notify the State Board for Educator Certification in certain cases when an educator’s employment is terminated and there is evidence of abuse or unlawful conduct with a student or minor.

As of Saturday morning, the sheriff’s office was still urging possible victims or witnesses to come forward through its tip line at 936-538-5900 or Multi-County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-392-7867. The case now sits at the intersection of criminal charges, school oversight and the long delay between an allegation and accountability.