Jared Randall Barber, 35, a former coach at Cypress Christian School, was arrested Thursday in Louisiana as a fugitive and is being transferred to Georgia, according to the report. A grand jury this week indicted him on three new charges: first-degree cruelty to children, a felony punishable by 5 to 20 years in prison, and two added counts of grooming a minor and electronically furnishing obscene material to minors.
An August indictment already charged Barber with grooming a minor, attempted grooming of a minor and furnishing obscene material to minors. That indictment said sexual communications with a male student took place between July 2024 and April 2026, while Barber worked as a teacher and coach at the school in the Houston area. The indictment describes the messages as sexual in nature. Barber has not been convicted of these charges.
Cypress Christian fired Barber in April over alleged inappropriate communications with an underage male student who had moved to Georgia. Families believe he targeted male students for years at private schools in Texas and other states, according to the report. Barber does not hold a Texas teaching certificate and is not on the state's Do Not Hire Registry, the report said.
In a statement, Cypress Christian School said it is aware of the arrest and is cooperating with law enforcement in Georgia and Texas. The school said it would not comment on the evidence or the outcome of the case, which is ongoing.