Universal City band teacher arrested on child sex charges
UNIVERSAL CITY, Texas — A band and yearbook teacher at First Baptist Academy was arrested last week on felony charges of indecency with a child and child grooming. He has since bonded out.
Stephen Strawn, 50, was booked into the Bexar County jail on March 27. A judge set bond at $125,000. Jail records show Strawn posted bond and was released.
The case broke open because of a student's friend. According to an arrest affidavit, the friend secretly recorded audio of one of Strawn's interactions with the victim, a girl who was as young as 12 during the alleged encounters. The victim and another student later told friends what had been happening. Those friends told their parents, who called Child Protective Services.
CPS visited the First Baptist Academy campus on Pat Booker Road on March 16. Universal City police were notified two days later.
The affidavit lays out a pattern that began in November 2025. Strawn started pulling the girl from class for private French horn lessons, which police say he used to build her trust. He later asked her to try on what he called "flag team uniforms" in his office. She had never been on the flag team. The clothing, which Strawn bought online, was not affiliated with the school and was more revealing than anything the school would have approved.
During the fittings, Strawn used a measuring tape and his hands to touch the girl inappropriately and made sexual comments, the affidavit states. He photographed her in the clothing. On at least one occasion he asked her to take off her bra. She refused. He told her she might have to next time.
Strawn sent the girl's friends out of his office during these sessions so she would be alone with him, according to the affidavit.
At a Friday press conference, Universal City police Sgt. Christopher Rosales said Strawn admitted during questioning to a similar grooming incident about two years earlier. Police believe there may be more victims.
First Baptist Academy and its church said in a statement that they did not know about the allegations until CPS showed up. Strawn was placed on administrative leave immediately and is no longer on campus.
Strawn faces one count of indecency with a child, a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years. He also faces one count of child grooming, a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Universal City Police Department.
