A 16-year-old female Centennial High School student logged on to Skype and began chatting with someone she told police she thought she knew.
The person claimed to be Bryce Benekos, an English teacher from her school, but she never saw his or her face.
The student used Skype, a video chat program, to stream a live image of herself, unaware of who was actually on the other side.
Eventually, the student’s parents would discover her online activities between her and the person claiming to be her teacher. The student’s step-father called the local police, which would begin an almost six month investigation into an inappropriate teacher/student relationship.
In late January, Burleson Police Department closed the case after no evidence was found linking Benekos to the student, whose name was blacked out from reports because she’s a juvenile.
Dale Smith, a Tarrant County assistant district attorney, said he would not accept the case for prosecution and no charges were filed. The case was dropped because there was no evidence from Benekos’ computers and other electronic devices indicating that he ever spoke to the student. Benekos is on paid leave.
The district did not comment on the student’s status. But in the Burleson ISD Student Code of Conduct Handbook, it states, “Students shall not engage in or encourage illegal behavior or threaten school safety, including off school property if the conduct causes a substantial disruption to the education environment.”
Talking to someone over the Internet can be risky, said Rachel Jenkins, an online safety expert for parents.
“Not everyone online is who they say they are,” she said. “It could be a predator who looks to use you for their own personal gain.”
The student involved in the investigation said to police she never saw who she was talking to even though she allowed herself to be seen through her webcam.
“That’s extremely dangerous because the person on the other end could be anybody, and they can be taking advantage of you,” she said. “From my experience, I’ve seen cases where the conversation starts out very innocent and then quickly turns sexual. You never know what someone’s intentions are, especially if you can’t see them.”
Burleson PD also urges parents to monitor their children’s Internet usage, Commander Cindy Aaron said.
“Be aware of their social networking and what websites they access,” she said. “Also, never provide personal information to someone you don’t know.”
The investigation began after Skype messages were found on the student’s laptop.
“I received information from my wife that she had received a phone call indicating that may have been inappropriate activity, via Skype, between my step-daughter and a high school coach,” the student’s step-father said in a police report.
The step-father said he immediately retrieved his daughter’s laptop and pulled up Skype logs and found conversations between his step-daughter and another person.
“After reading the content it was easy to determine the content was of an inappropriate nature. We contacted a friend in law enforcement that advised us to report this incident to the local police department,” he wrote.
The investigation began around Aug. 2 and police seized all of Benekos’ computers and electronic devices for evidence. However, no evidence of Skype messages were found on his computer.
Police saved the conversations found on the student’s computer between her and a person using the name Bryce Benekos.
The conversations between the student and a Skype user were obtained through an open records request by the Times-Review. The conversations were sexually explicit and contained graphic subject matter.
On Aug. 16, Burleson PD Detective Shannon Kimberling interviewed the student about the alleged relationship.
The student told Kimberling she went on Stickam, a live-streaming video website that allows users to interact, and met a person with the user name Cory 18.
During their conversation the student was asked to go on Skype, a computer program that also allows private video and message chatting. Cory 18 would later identify and refer to himself as Benekos.
According to police reports, the conversation went on for about a month. When asked by Kimberling whether she ever saw the person she was talking to, the student said no.
BISD is conducting an internal investigation into alleged inappropriate relationship.
“This is a serious matter, and the district takes it seriously,” Burleson ISD Superintendent Richard Crummel said in an email.
Crummel said Burleson PD has turned over information about the case to the district and he said the district has no further comment.
“The statement we gave to the media will remain in effect until we complete our investigation,” he said.
Burleson PD launched an investigation into the case in early August after receiving the report of a student-teacher relationship.
After the investigation, which lasted almost seven months, BPD closed the case after it decided there wasn’t enough clear evidence, Aaron said.
“After a lengthy investigation and consulting with Assistant Tarrant County District Attorney Dale Smith, the case was closed with no charges filed due to lack of evidence,” she said.
Benekos could not be reached for comment as of press time Thursday.
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