KEMP, Texas — A Kemp Independent School District teacher is on administrative leave after district administrators learned of charges against him in Oklahoma for engaging in sexual communication with a minor.
KEMP, Texas — A Kemp Independent School District teacher is on administrative leave after district administrators learned of charges against him in Oklahoma for engaging in sexual communication with a minor.
Yesterday, 27-year-old Joseph Kolt Palmer was arrested by the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office on the out of state warrant for engaging in sexual communication with a minor by use of technology.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation began investigating the allegations against Palmer in May 2016 while he was a teacher at Yale High School in Yale, Oklahoma.
Before Palmer was charged in Oklahoma, he moved to Texas where he took a teaching position at Kemp ISD.
In a statement, Kemp ISD Superintendent Phil Edwards says Palmer was thoroughly screened prior to his employment and his record was found to be clean.
"We are working with authorities locally and at the state level to investigate the Oklahoma charges we are only just now hearing about,” stated Edwards.
“I can tell you that we thoroughly screened the employee in question prior to hiring him — as we check all our employees — and found his record to be clear based on information available at the time,” Edwards statement continued. “That employee is now on administrative leave as we continue looking into this matter.”
“Student safety is and will remain an issue of paramount concern at Kemp ISD,” stated Edward.
Palmer is being held at the Kaufman County Jail and is awaiting arraignment at the time of press.
