Former Austin ISD tutor and juvenile corrections officer faces more charges of indecency with children

AUSTIN (KXAN) – A former juvenile corrections officer and former Austin Independent School District tutor has been indicted on felony charges in connection with his time working at Giddings State School, according to Texas Juvenile Justice Department officials.

The two charges, brought by a grand jury in Lee County on Wednesday, accuse Isaiah Xavier Smith of indecency with a child and improper sexual activity with a person in custody.  

It comes less than a month after Smith was arrested for allegedly inappropriately touching a student while tutoring at Akins High School. Smith remains in the Travis County jail on a charge of indecency with a child by contact.   

Smith’s court-appointed attorney for his charges out of Travis County declined to comment on the recent charges.

Smith began working as a volunteer at Giddings in May 2021. The agency hired him as a juvenile corrections officer in August 2022, but he was fired after six weeks.

TJJD’s Office of Inspector General opened an investigation into an incident involving Smith in September 2022. Investigators allege he sexually touched a juvenile at Giddings in September.

The agency told KXAN that when Smith was fired in December, he was also placed on an Integrated Certification Information System (ICIS) database, which flags him as ineligible for certification as a juvenile probation officer. The flag would prompt county juvenile facilities to call TJJD before hiring him.

Smith was also ineligible for re-hire at any state juvenile facility.

After being fired from Giddings School, Smith joined Austin Partners in Education, a non-profit that assigns tutors to more than 100 Austin ISD schools. He started working as a college readiness tutor at Akins High School in September 2023.

Smith’s tutoring job at Akins lasted fewer than two months. Smith was banned from the campus in late October, according to district officials, after Austin ISD police launched an investigation into allegations that he touched a teenage boy during a tutoring session.

The student told police Smith also offered to buy the teen shoes, underwear, and money before the incident, according to court documents.

Austin Partners in Education Executive Director Cathy Jones told KXAN in December the nonprofit would not comment on Smith because of the ongoing investigation. She also did not answer questions about the group’s background check process or if they are flagged when a person is listed as ineligible for certification in ICIS. However, TJJD officials admitted school districts and nonprofits would not have access to ICIS.

Schools and nonprofits running background checks on prospective employees would have to contact TJJD to find out about any investigations or flags.

Before his arrest, Smith was also seen outside Austin ISD campuses carrying a firearm, according to the Austin ISD police chief. The Austin Police Department was also called out to St. Francis, a private school for Pre-K through eighth-grade students, and the Austin Public Library, where Smith was also seen carrying a long gun and pistol.

Smith faced no charges related to the episodes outside the schools or library. Carrying a firearm openly is legal in Texas.