Jared Barber

Indicted on six charges and arrested as a fugitive; fired in April 2026; presumption of innocence. Barber, a former teacher and coach at a private Houston-area Christian school, was indicted by a Georgia grand jury in August and hit with three further counts this week, then picked up in Louisiana on a fugitive charge and is being transferred to Georgia to answer the allegations.

Introduction

Jared Randall Barber, 35, is a former secondary school teacher and coach at Cypress Christian School, a private K-12 school in the Houston area, who was fired in April 2026 over allegedly “inappropriate” communications with an underage male former student who had since moved to Georgia . A Bryan County, Georgia grand jury indicted him on August 18, 2026 on three counts — felony grooming of a minor, felony criminal attempt to commit grooming of a minor, and misdemeanor electronically furnishing obscene material to minors . This week a second grand jury indictment added three more counts, including first-degree cruelty to children, and Barber was taken into custody in Louisiana on Thursday as a fugitive before transfer to Georgia . He has been charged but not tried: an indictment is an accusation, and he is presumed innocent.

Background Information

Before Cypress Christian hired him in 2023, Barber built a nine-year career moving between private and Christian schools across three states: teacher and football coach at Fort Worth Christian School in North Richland Hills (2020-2023), head football coach at Lee Academy in Mississippi (2019-2020) and Riverdale Academy in Louisiana (2018), Bible teacher and coach at Dallas Christian School (2017-2018), and earlier stints at Grapevine Faith Christian School and homeschool programs in Shreveport, Louisiana . He does not hold a Texas teaching certificate and was not listed on the state’s Do Not Hire Registry while employed by the private school, which placed him outside the public educator-credentialing system that covers Texas public-school employees . Texas Scorecard’s reporting records that Cypress Christian families say Barber was assigned to travel on overnight trips with student athletes and frequently texted the boys, even on weekends .

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Cypress Christian School says it first received “information concerning Mr. Barber” on April 29, 2026, reported the matter to Texas authorities, terminated his contract that day and removed him from all contact with students . The August indictment alleges sexual communications between Barber and the boy took place between July 2024 and April 2026 while Barber worked at the school, and describes a “pattern” of sexual communication with a minor under 18 using an electronic device to “persuade and induce said child to engage in a sexual offense” . The indictment accuses Barber of sending messages discussing the child’s penis size, masturbation and penile erections, along with “obscene” material containing “explicit verbal descriptions” of masturbation and sexual conduct . On November 5, 2026, a new grand jury indictment added first-degree cruelty to children — a felony carrying five to twenty years — plus two added counts of grooming and electronically furnishing obscene material, bringing the total to six counts . Families believe Barber targeted male students for years while moving between private schools in Texas and other states, but that he changed jobs frequently and was never reported to authorities .

Public Reaction and Consequences

The arrest drew fresh attention to the school’s handling of the case and to the wider pattern families describe. Cypress Christian confirmed it was aware of Barber’s arrest, said it continues to cooperate with law enforcement in Georgia and Texas, and stated it “will not speculate about the evidence or the outcome of the proceedings” . Officials in Bryan County told ABC13 that Barber has been served with the charges but that they had no records of him appearing in their jail or court as of Friday afternoon — custody in Georgia had not yet begun . Barber was instead booked in Bossier Parish, Louisiana at 3:27 p.m. on November 5, 2026 on a fugitive charge by the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office, pending transfer .

Current Status

Barber is in custody following the November 5 fugitive arrest and is being transferred to Georgia to face the six-count indictment . No plea has been reported and no trial date has been announced . The felony grooming counts each carry one to five years in prison, the cruelty count five to twenty, and the case remains unadjudicated .

Impact on Their Career/Life

Barber’s coaching career across three states is over, and the case has become part of a documented pattern Texas Scorecard tracks of school employees accused of sex crimes against students, with the school’s April termination and the Georgia indictments now attached to his name in court and press records . Because he held no Texas certificate, the public accountability mechanisms that apply to certified educators — TEA review and the Do Not Hire Registry — did not apply to him at the time of the alleged conduct, a gap families who followed the case have highlighted . The felony indictment, the fugitive arrest and the school’s own account of his removal now define the public record of a nine-year coaching career that spanned at least six schools .

Sources

• Texas Scorecard, “Fired Cypress Christian Coach Arrested on Child Grooming Charges,” November 6, 2026 — source
• ABC13/KTRK, “Former Cypress Christian School employee accused in sex crimes against underage boy in Georgia,” November 2026 — source
• RecentlyBooked.com / Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office booking record, Jared Randall Barber, November 5, 2026 — source