FORT WORTH (1080 KRLD) - A Tarrant County man has been arrested for allegedly soliciting a minor online.
The Tarrant County Sheriff's Office says Steven Rhea Hart, 26, was chatting with someone who he thought was an underage teenage boy in a sexually explicit manner on the Grindr smartphone app.
The person on the other end of the chat was, in fact, an undercover deputy.
Investigators say Hart first made contact with the undercover deputy in October, and he was arrested on Thursday.
Hart was a biology teacher at Coppell High School's ninth grade campus; he resigned the day before his arrest.
The school district released a statement on its website:
"On March 4, 2020, Coppell ISD notified parents and employees that Steven Hart from the Coppell High School Ninth Grade Campus (CHS9) had resigned from CISD shortly before being arrested for alleged online solicitation of a minor by the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office. According to the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office, this alleged incident does not involve a Coppell ISD student. He worked for the district from 2016 until his resignation March 4, 2020.
"This former employee is no longer allowed at CHS9 or any Coppell Independent School District campus or facility. The District also has reported this alleged incident to the State Board of Educator Certification, as required by law and District Policy.
"Employee privacy laws prohibit us from releasing additional details about this situation."
