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AUSTIN (KXAN) — On October 16, a Hays County jury found a former teacher guilty of the continuous sexual abuse of a child, sentencing him to life imprisonment without parole, as announced by the Hays County District Attorney’s Office on Monday.
Andrew Palmore, 53, who previously resided in Kyle, Texas, had been employed at several schools across Central Texas from 2000 to 2022. According to affiliate KXAN, Palmore was associated with Blanco Vista Elementary in San Marcos, Casey Elementary in Austin, Cedar Creek Elementary in the Bastrop Independent School District, and schools in the Del Valle ISD.
In March 2022, the Kyle Police Department apprehended Palmore, which led to the Hays Consolidated ISD board of trustees voting to terminate his employment.
After his arrest, Austin ISD informed KXAN that Palmore had been investigated but noted that he resigned in 2004, citing relocation as the reason. In 2020, Hays CISD had placed Palmore on leave following an allegation of inappropriate contact with a student.
Del Valle, Bastrop, and the Texas Education Agency reported to KXAN in 2022 that they had no previous investigations or reports regarding Palmore’s misconduct.
“It was apparent from the testimony of the witnesses that Palmore used his position as a teacher to gain access to an untold number of children and to garner the trust of the community and the parents,” said Hays County District Attorney Kelly Higgins in the release. “It is impossible to know the true extent of Palmore’s sexual abuse, which spanned more than two decades.”
In addition to the charge he was convicted of, Hays County court records show 13 counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact, one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one count of attempted indecency with a child by sexual contact. However, those records listed the charges as “abandoned charges.”
Higgins’ office said six children and two adults, former students of Palmore’s in the early 2000s, testified at the trial.
Hays County Assistant District Attorneys Daniella Garcia and Elizabeth Schmidt prosecuted the case. In the press release, they thanked the survivors, the victim assistant coordinator and Kyle Police Detective Pedro Carrasco Jr. for his work investigating the case.
“Children are the most vulnerable members of our society, and today, the children of Hays County have been made safer by ensuring a dangerous sexual predator will never have access to another child again. Bringing this predator to justice was truly a team and community effort,” Schmidt said. “We hope the victims find some measure of reassurance knowing that they are safer, and they have the community’s support.”
An attorney for Palmore filed a notice of appeal in the case on Oct. 16, the same day that Palmore was sentenced.
