DENTON, Texas — The Denton County Sheriff’s Office conducted a two-day sting operation that led to the arrest of 23 individuals.
27-year-old Justin Wallace Carter, a now-former employee at Denton High School, was among the individuals arrested on Friday, June 14th. He was charged with online solicitation of a minor. Carter's social media accounts show he was an assistant football coach at Denton High School. Court records show he worked in the school's special education department.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by WFAA, undercover investigators found Carter on the anonymous social networking app Whisper. Detectives say Carter communicated with someone he believed was a minor for a sex act, but it was really an undercover investigator. Detectives gave Carter an address, and when he showed up, he asked the “minor” to come out of the house. That’s when deputies moved in and arrested him.
Carter is out of jail on a $25,000 bond. Under his bond conditions, Carter shall not accept new employment, supervise, or participate in any program that brings him into contact with any person under the age of 18, but he “may keep current position,” court records show.
Krystyn Comeaux, a Ponder ISD mom, told WFAA her daughter experienced an inappropriate encounter with Carter while he worked and coached at Ponder Middle School in 2023.
“I am angry because there were red flags and they were ignored,” Comeaux said.
Comeaux and her daughter, Krystyn Mahmood said they want to speak out in case any underaged girls were victims of sexual assault.
“I want them to know it’s okay for you to speak out, it’s not a bad thing,” Mahmood said.
According to Mahmood, Carter would walk her to class and occasionally wink at her while she was in 8th grade. On one of the last days of her eight grade, Mahmood says Carter pulled her aside and asked for the teenager’s Snapchat account. Mahmood said she received a friend request after their conversation. He approached her again and told her he added her on the social media app, Mahmood said.
“That’s when I started getting really nervous… I was like, okay this is real, he actually added me,” Mahmood said in an emotional interview. “It felt really wrong.”
Mahmood said she told her close friend about it, and when her friend became concerned, she told the school principal.
Comeaux said she received a call from the principal to inform her of what allegedly happened, and at that point, she stopped the attempted social media interaction in its tracks.
“It could've been bad,” Comeaux said. “It didn’t get very far. We stopped it before it developed into something. The only reason she is not a true victim is because she had a friend who was willing to speak up to protect her, to do something. That takes a lot of courage.”
According to a spokesperson for Ponder ISD, Carter resigned in May 2023.
Denton ISD confirmed the district hired him as a provisional employee in 2024, and he worked there for less than a year.
Comeaux told WFAA she called Denton High School to tell them about her daughter’s alleged experience with Carter as soon as she learned he was hired by another district.
“Nobody did anything,” Comeaux said.
During that time, Carter continued to attend girls volleyball games at Ponder Middle School, Comeaux said. It often made her daughter feel uncomfortable, she described.
Denton ISD didn’t clarify whether Carter was terminated or resigned. It’s also unclear when exactly he left the district. The district only told WFAA his charge was non-school related.
“He shouldn’t be allowed to take care of anybody in a vulnerable position,” Comeaux said.