Parents at a Texas private school are pulling their children from classes after discovering that the pastor’s son, a registered sex offender, had been working on campus.
Caleb Crawford, son of Heritage Baptist Church Pastor Eric Crawford, was employed at Heritage Christian Academy in Haslet as an independent contractor before his termination this week.
The revelation has prompted calls for leadership changes at both the church and the school, with several families already withdrawing their children from enrollment.
Ryan and Dani Jo Gunderson discovered Crawford’s criminal history through online records.
“He’s supposed to be in a position where he is taking care of the church members and the school members and all these kids in the school, and he is putting them all in harm’s way, or at least potential,” Ryan Gunderson said, Fox 4 KDFW reported.
Court records show Crawford was indicted in 2016 for indecency with a child involving sexual conduct. The victim was a 12-year-old girl.
Crawford served jail time and must register as a sex offender for life. Online databases list him as a moderate risk to re-offend.
“If someone would have told us about this four years ago, when we were looking to enroll, we would have never put our kids there,” Gunderson added.
The couple has withdrawn their three children from the school.
After alerting other parents, the Gundersons connected with Chris and Marlene Baily.
“As parents, we put them in a private school because we thought it’d be the safest place for them. We trusted them,” Marlene Baily said, per Fox 4.
Pastor Crawford declined an interview request and directed inquiries to a statement on the school’s Facebook page, according to Fox 4. The post claimed his son had no “responsibility” or “authority” over students.
“Heritage Baptist church and its related ministries do not conceal criminal conduct, and we maintain zero tolerance for criminal or inappropriate behavior within our ministry community. In accordance with mandatory reporting laws, we report any suspicion of abuse or inappropriate conduct toward a minor to the appropriate authorities,” the statement added. “We carefully screen employees and volunteers and maintain strict policies and procedures consistent with applicable federal and Texas law and recognized best practices.”
During a Tuesday meeting with the principal, the Bailys learned that “a lot of the staff knew about this for a very long time,” according to Fox 4.
“Our children should be number one, that should be the number one priority, not protecting your own child, who should not be around children,” Chris Baily said, Fox 4 reported.
Parents have contacted Fort Worth police about the situation. No reports of sexual misconduct at the school have been filed.
The school terminated Crawford’s employment immediately after parents raised concerns. Neither Crawford nor Fort Worth police responded to requests for comment.
