DALLAS — A teacher scheduled to talk with Dallas police over accusations of child exploitation was found dead Tuesday, authorities said early Friday evening.
A teacher at J.J. Pearce High School, 45-year-old Robert Howard Temple committed suicide, Garland police confirmed.
Meanwhile, police have asked for the public's help as they continue to investigate the child exploitation case involving Temple.
The J.J. Pearce teacher was scheduled to talk to police after investigators determined he was "involved in a relationship" with a student at another school, Dallas police say.
The day Temple was found dead, Mike Evans, the principal at J.J. Pearce High School, said Temple "passed away unexpectedly" in a message to staff and students.
In the message, Evans said Temple worked at the school for two years and would be "dearly missed by his students and colleagues alike."
Friday, Jeannie Stone, the Richardson Independent School District superintendent, sent another message to parents after the district received news that Temple was under investigation:
Pearce High School Parents,
I’m reaching out this evening to share information with you about former Pearce High School teacher Rob Temple. Mr. Temple was found deceased this past Tuesday. This evening, RISD received information that Mr. Temple is the suspect in a Dallas Police Child Exploitation offense investigation and according to Dallas Police, it was determined that he had been involved in a relationship with a student at a different school. This is a serious situation involving the safety of students, and I wanted you to know as soon as possible.
Dallas Police are requesting that anyone with information about Mr. Temple related to this investigation contact Dallas PD at 214-671-4215. Mr. Temple was a teacher at Pearce and in RISD for two years, since 2017. Please speak with your student to determine if they have information relevant to the police investigation, and contact Dallas PD if they do.
Thank you for your partnership in keeping our students safe.
"Richardson ISD (or Pearce HS) was not part of the child exploitation investigation and learned of it this evening," added Tim Clark, a spokesman with the district, when asked for comment on the Temple investigation.
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