BREAKING: BRAZORIA COUNTY, TEXAS— Last week, a Houston-area elementary school teacher joined the ranks of the latest Houston educators arrested for child sex crimes after an investigation revealed he had solicited a minor online and possessed over a hundred counts of child pornography.
Michael Bourquin, 54, was arrested and booked into the Brazoria County Jail. The art teacher at Magnum Elementary School, a charter school through Southwest Public Schools, was also charged in Harris County for possession of 105 images and one video of child pornography, according to court records.
His bond was set at $175,000 for the solicitation charge.
An investigation into the elementary school art teacher has been ongoing since January, the Manvel Police Department said. An anonymous informant tipped the police that Bourquin was having sexually explicit phone conversations with a 15-year-old-boy, which included discussions about meeting up for sexual activities.
The police department uncovered that communications between Bourquin and the 15-year-old began Oct. 12, 2023, and continued throughout December. The teacher and the minor used social media applications Snapchat— where they met— and Telegram to talk.
KHOU11 reported that after Bourquin found the minor on Snapchat, he encouraged them to instead speak on the more private platform Telegram. The teacher was aware of the boy’s age, and it only compelled him further as he began grooming the child.
“Does it matter to you that you are a minor and 15?” Bourquin asked the minor. “I try not to let age get in the way of what we both want, and I know I want to get naked with you.”
“I guess it will be hard at first, but I know we will get creative and find ways for us to get together,” Bourquin allegedly said to the boy in Telegram.
By March, the investigation expanded to include the Pearland Police Department. Early this month, detectives visited Magnum Elementary School to interview Bourquin.
In the interview, investigators inquired if Bourquin knew the 15-year-old. At first, he acted confused, court records said. Later, Bourquin admitted that he did know the teenager and confessed that they had been talking for around six months— a longer time frame than investigators had previously believed.
Bourquin was “guarded in his responses” and was “clearly not providing the detective with truthful responses,” Click 2 Houston summarized the court records as saying.
Eventually, Bourquin admitted to exchanging sexually explicit images and videos with the minor and making plans to meet up, although according to Bourquin, he never actually planned to meet up with the child, and it was “just fantasy/teacher role playing as far as he was concerned,” the court records said.
During the interview, detectives attempted to seize Bourquin’s phone, but he held onto it tightly and they had to “forcibly remove it from his hand,” the records said. Detectives later found 105 images and one video of child pornography on the device.
The school district, Southwest Public Schools, has released the following statement regarding Bourquin’s arrest.
“While we cannot comment on personal matters related to charges filed against Mr. Bourquin, we can affirm that the allegations are unrelated to any Southwest Public Schools’ student. Mr. Bourquin is no longer employed with Southwest Public Schools. Please know the safety of our students is our top priority.”
