Indecency cases grow against KIPP counselor
2 more students accuse educator of molesting them; police fear more
A fired KIPP counselor arrested earlier this month on charges that he molested a student now faces two additional charges.
Authorities said two more students — ages 7 and 11 — came forward to accuse Brandon McElveen of molesting them.
Meanwhile, a top prosecutor with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office as well as investigators with the Houston Police Department said they believe McElveen, 33, may have abused many more children during his tenure at the school that began in 2011.
“The unique part about this case is that we have so many victims coming forward. He had access to many children,” said JoAnne Musick, chief of the sex crimes unit for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Musick said the victims and their parents came forward independently of each other to report McElveen.
McElveen is being held in jail in Victoria County. U.S. marshals traveled there on Thursday to arrest him after the new charges were filed.
Shocking allegations
According to prosecutors, the former counselor, who has been living with his parents in Victoria, was initially charged in mid-October following accusations that surfaced in September that he had molested an 8-year-old girl on campus under the guise of checking her for lice.
The girl’s second-grade teacher told authorities McElveen took the child out of class five times for lice checks. He told her he had to check her for bites and lice, and according to court documents, also forced her to touch him. The child said the most recent incident was Sept. 26. The girl’s technology and art teachers said McElveen removed the girl from their classes without telling them why. Her technology teacher added when she was taken out of class, it was for “a long while,” according to court documents.
Police said McElveen abused his power as a counselor by checking students out of classes and bringing them back to his office, where the contact allegedly took place.
Investigators said the additional students have accused McElveen of harming them in a similar manner after he brought them to his office under the pretense of performing a checkup.
McElveen was put on administrative leave after the allegations surfaced and he was fired Oct. 16 after his arrest. His bail was set at $888,888, and he was able to post a bail bond and was released.
Two days later, the second and third victims stepped forward and accused McElveen of indecency. No other details were given by authorities about those cases as of Friday afternoon.
Police now say they are looking into additional cases but declined to reveal how many potential cases exist or how long he allegedly abused the students.
Now, prosecutors are hoping for a high bail amount against McElveen. As of Friday afternoon, he was still in Victoria County waiting for a magistrate judge to set bail conditions.
If the judge doesn’t set bail, McElveen will be extradited to Harris County.
The news of the allegations in mid-October shocked parents and administrators at the KIPP school where McElveen worked, which is in the 5400 block of Lawndale Street in the Lawndale/ Wayside neighborhood in southeast Houston.
The shock from parents and administrators at the allegations came shortly after McElveen was lauded by school administrators for his unselfish actions during Hurricane Harvey, when he ventured out in his pickup and a kayak into floodwaters to rescue his students and their families.
“We are deeply disturbed by these new allegations about our former staff member. This type of behavior runs counter to everything we believe in at KIPP,” Superintendent Sehba Ali said in a statement released when allegations emerged.
‘Grooming process’
McElveen’s tenure at the school began sometime after 2010. Before that, he was a University of Houston-Victoria graduate student studying psychology, and in 2010 he helped establish the school’s School Psychology Association and became the organization’s first president, according to a university news release.
After graduating, he started working for KIPP. Investigators haven’t revealed when McElveen’s alleged actions started, but they noted that they typically don’t happen overnight.
“The grooming process starts very early,” said HPD Lt. John Colburn. “My fear is that there are many more.”
McElveen had access to multiple children throughout his tenure with the school, Colburn said.
Investigators are asking anyone whose children had interaction with McElveen to speak with their children.
Anyone with information regarding additional victims or whose children may have had inappropriate contact with the former counselor is urged to contact the HPD Special Victims Division at 713-8303254 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
john.harden@chron.com twitter.com/jdharden