Police: Tanglewood Middle School teacher Dale Vanwright arrested for explicit video calls with relative’s 14-year-old girlfriend

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) – A former HISD middle school teacher was arrested Friday after police say he forced a 14-year-old student to perform sexual acts on camera and groped her in a parked car.

Dale Vanwright, 63, was a design teacher at Tanglewood Middle School at the time of the alleged crimes.

According to court documents, the victim was dating a relative of Vanwright’s at the time, who happened to be a fellow student at Tanglewood. (Eyewitness News is not disclosing what the relationship was between the two to protect the victim’s identity.)

According to police, the victim eventually began making video calls with Vanwright after school.

In a February 2024 phone call that court documents say was apparently made from Vanwright’s cross-decorated home in northeast Houston, he allegedly ordered the victim to expose herself.

Prosecutors say he told the victim that if his relative couldn’t satisfy her, he could help her. He then allegedly made her perform a sexual act on camera and said he would hang up when his wife came in.

According to police, the situation escalated in May when he began groping the victim in his car parked in front of a store in west Houston and pressured her to “let him touch her.”

According to investigators, the victim resisted and was only able to get Vanwright to stop by reminding him that they still had to pick up his relative from training.

It is unclear how the allegations came to light. The victim was questioned earlier this month and charges were not filed until Thursday.

According to court documents, Vanwright lost his job at Tanglewood in March after being accused of kissing and hugging another 14-year-old student.

ABC13 reached out to HISD for comment but did not receive one.

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