NEW BOSTON, Texas - A former New Boston Independent School District teacher and coach was sentenced to probation Thursday after a Bowie County jury found him guilty of sexual misconduct with a 15-year-old boy.
The jury found Zachary Tyler Moody, 43, guilty of an improper relationship between educator and student and of indecency with a child by sexual contact for groping a student in a locker room hallway April 10, 2017. The jury sentenced him to five years on the indecency charge and 10 years for improper relationship with a recommendation for probation, which 5th District Judge Bill Miller is required by law to follow. Moody must register as a sex offender.
The boy, now 17, testified that he managed to get away from Moody after the coach stuck his hand down the boy's pants and said, "Give me a squeeze," "Don't fight me," and, "God wants this." The boy hid in a locked bathroom stall until his athletics period ended and it was time to go home.
That evening the boy and his parents were dining at a Texarkana restaurant when Moody sent him an Instagram direct message stating, "I was being stupid, sorry." The family traveled next to the New Boston Police Department and an investigation was launched.
During videotaped interviews the following day, Moody told Lt. Johnny Millwood that he touched the student but it was a joke and not sexual. In a second interview the same day, Moody said there might be other boys, "two, three, four," who might also give accounts of him touching their genitals, which he described as "joking."
A number of boys and young men testified that Moody has touched them inappropriately. A young father testified that while working in retail with Moody, Moody gave him $20 for a nude picture. Another former fellow employee testified that Moody asked him for a nude picture while the two discussed Moody buying his truck.
One former New Boston High School student testified Thursday that Moody often sat in a chair in the locker room and watched the athletes changing while he was on the football team. That witness also testified that Moody offered to wash his back while staying in a hotel room on a school trip.
Under questioning from his lawyer, Bart Craytor of Texarkana, Moody said, "I believe in the Bible and I am a Christian."
When asked by Craytor about homosexuality, Moody said he doesn't believe the Bible permits it.
"I believe it is very clear from scripture that it is wrong," he said.
When asked by Craytor if he "follows scripture," he replied, "Absolutely."
Longview, Texas, Police Department Det. Chris Taylor testified about a forensic analysis he performed of Moody's cellphone. In addition to 179 nude photos of young men, Taylor testified that he discovered searches in Moody's phone for "cute teen boys, boy's pants fall down," and searches for photos of boys' genitals.
Assistant District Attorney Katie Carter asked the jury to sentence Moody to time in prison and urged that getting him off the street will protect other boys and young men. Craytor asked the jury for probation and emphasized that he will be supervised and restricted as a registered sex offender.