NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – Leon Sneed, 44, a former basketball coach at New Braunfels Christian Academy accused of having a sexual relationship with a female student, may have had a tough time getting hired by other local schools due to his criminal past.
An online database shows Sneed has a history of arrests, mostly during the 1990s, for crimes including theft and assault (see below).
The latest charge filed against him is improper relationship between an educator and student involving a sexual relationship. The charge stems from allegations that Sneed engaged in a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl.
New Braunfels police said Sneed admitted to the crime last week and agreed to turn himself in last Friday. When he failed to do so, police labeled him a fugitive and put out an alert for information on his whereabouts.
On Tuesday afternoon, Capt. John McDonald with the New Braunfels Police Department, released a statement saying that Sneed had surrendered at the Bexar County jail shortly before 3 p.m.
However, records show Sneed was released about eight hours later after paying a $75,000 bond.
Sneed has been fired from his coaching job at New Braunfels Christian Academy in the wake of the allegations. However, with his previous criminal history alone, he never would've been hired at some local schools.
Aubrey Chancellor, spokeswoman for Northeast Independent School District, said the district's policy prohibits people with violent crimes, such as assault, on their records from being hired in a position that involves children, regardless of when it happened.
Information on the Northside ISD's website shows anyone with a felony on their records would be excluded from being hired.
Running criminal background checks is part of the hiring process at New Braunfels Christian Academy, according to principal Eric Pipkin. However, he would not define which crimes might exclude someone from working directly with students at that school.
In a statement, school officials released the following statement about Sneed's criminal record:
"We conduct thorough background checks, multiple interviews, and references on personal character. Sneed disclosed his convictions from 1991 and 1992 to interviewing school officials. They were explained as a minor theft (class b misdemeanor, $20 - $200) and a fist fight (class b misdemeanor), which were confirmed by a background check. This information was disclosed and discussed with players' parents at the time he was hired. His 1995 and 1997 incidents were for suspended/invalid driver's license offenses.
There were no felony convictions on his record."