Ft Worth Times

A North Texas superintendent was arrested on Thursday in the Houston area as part of an underage sex solicitation sting. 

The Harris County Precinct 1 Constable's Office arrested and charged Itasca Independent School District Superintendent Michael K. Stephens for allegedly proposing to meet who he thought was a 15-year-old girl in Houston for sex, Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) NBC affiliate KXAS reported.

Stephens was among seven men authorities apprehended in the sting, per Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen, KXAS reported. 

Rosen added that his agency is trying to figure out if the suspects solicited any children, the station reported. 

"These predators were online surfing and looking for children," the constable said, according to a report from Houston CBS affiliate KHOU.

According to KHOU, Rosen said Stephens, who is in his late 40s, purportedly sent explicit images to the child, who was actually an undercover investigator posing as one online, and asked for the girl to send him some. 

The constable strongly urged parents to monitor what their children do in their screen time. 

"You must make it a priority to know what your children are doing online," Rosen said in the report. "As you can see by this sting operation, there are dangerous predators out there grooming our children and can cause great harm."

DFW CBS affiliate KTVT reported that Stephens took some of the pictures of himself in his office. 

Authorities captured him at Itasca High School. The IISD school board will meet to determine the next steps to take in light of the superintendent’s arrest, KTVT reported.

KXAS reported that it’s unknown whether Stephens, who has worked in other public school districts across Texas, sought legal counsel to address any questions or comments. 

Located at least 40 miles south of Fort Worth, IISD educated nearly 630 students as of the 2021-2022 academic year.