Paint Rock ISD School Board Trustee Arrested, Accused of 3 Felonies

BALLINGER, TX — A member of the Paint Rock ISD Board of Trustees was arrested in Runnels County Jan. 10 on three charges, one for Sexual Abuse of a Child Continuous, a first0-degree felony, and two charges of Sexual Assault of a Child, both second-degree felonies. Ken Grimm at KLST broke the story yesterday.

The Paint Rock ISD quickly issued a press release indicating the charges against board member Daniel Bennett were from a 2016 incident and that the “alleged local female victim” was 19 years old at the time.

No arrest affidavit has been released to the public.

The full text of the Paint Rock ISD press release:

"On Wednesday, January 10, 2018, school administrators were informed by law enforcement that one of the members of the Paint Rock Independent School Board of Trustees, Daniel Bennett, had been indicted and arrested on a 2016 accusation. At the time of the accusation, the alleged local female victim was 19 and had already graduated high school.

"The 2016 allegation was investigated at the time by the Concho County Sheriff's Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, CPS, and the Texas Rangers. The accusation did not involve any events that alleged to have taken place on the school grounds or at school events. The accusations did not relate to any actions related to his role as a school board trustee. Being a local contractor, Mr. Bennett has employed a number of local people that worked for him. It is in that role, he formerly employed members of the alleged victim's family before their employment was terminated.

"Mr. Bennett has served continually on the PRISD School Board of Trustees since 2006. He also serves on the Concho County Appraisal District's Board of Trustees where he served for several years.

"Members of the PRISD School Board of Trustees are elected to the board by local voters and generally serve three year terms. Mr. Bennett was last re-elected to his position in May of 2017. He currently serves as the vice president of the board. Bennet said he will voluntarily not be attending the board of trustee meetings until his names is cleared from the accusation. He will also not be on campus until this matter is resolved.

"Paint Rock ISD looks forward to the resolution of this matter and will be glad to assist the legal authorities any way we can. As always, the safety of our students remains our greatest concern and our greatest commitment."