By SNEJANA FARBEROV
A 32-year-old Texas teacher and married mother of two has been arrested and charged with having a sexual relationship with one of her male students. Brooke Lynn Domel was taken into custody Monday morning in the parking lot of the Wharton Independent School District Administration Building. The Wharton High School teacher was booked into Wharton County Jail on a second-degree felony charge of improper relationship between an educator and a student. The woman, who has a young son and daughter, was released on bond Tuesday, the station Click2Houston reported. According to police, Domel had sex with a high school student in 2012. The alleged victim graduated last month.
Wharton ISD Superintendent Kay Shoppa contacted school board members by phone about the case and released a written statement to the news media. ‘The district takes these allegations very seriously and does not tolerate the type of conduct alleged,’ Shoppa stated. ‘Student safety remains the No. 1 priority in this school system. To that end, the district is cooperating with authorities and will take any and all corrective action it deems necessary as a result of this investigation.’ According to the official website of Wharton High School, Domel, a graduate of Texas A&M University, teaches elective courses like floral design, small animal management and landscape management. Since her arrest, the 32-year-old educator has been placed on administrative leave, but her future at the school remains unclear since her contract for the 2013-14 school year has already been renewed, according to Wharton Journal Spectator.
Police launched an investigation into Domel's alleged misconduct in May after receiving reports from witnesses. Wharton County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Raymond Jansky said that the decision to arrest Domel at around 10.30am Monday came after they had received 'new information' in connection to the case. Officials believe that Domel and her underage lover had multiple encounters, but none of them took place on school grounds.
