The Dallas Police Department has arrested four individuals suspected of being involved in the sex trafficking of an underage victim within the city of Dallas. The case has garnered immense attention, especially after it was revealed to be linked to the recent disappearance of 11-year-old Tanya Jackson from southern Dallas, who was the subject of an Amber Alert. The Waxahachie Police announced on Saturday that Tanya Jackson had been found safe.
Among those arrested is 36-year-old Gershon Caston, who has a disturbing history working in multiple North Texas school districts over the past decade. According to CBS News Texas, Caston is currently employed as a teacher and coach at Red Oak Middle School within the Red Oak Independent School District (ISD). However, his employment history also includes stints at Irving ISD, Duncanville ISD, and DeSoto ISD.
Upon investigation, Irving ISD confirmed that an individual matching Caston's name had been employed as a special education teacher for two years, from August 2020 to May 2022. However, the district did not disclose the specific campus where he worked during that period.
Authorities have been tight-lipped about the case's details, and as of now, no detailed affidavits outlining the evidence against Caston and the other suspects arrested in the sex trafficking investigation have been released. The ongoing investigation is expected to delve deeper into the alleged crimes and the extent of their involvement in the reprehensible act.
The Red Oak ISD sent the following message to parents:
Red Oak ISD has been made aware of two non-district-related arrests this week involving a former employee and a new hire who had not yet begun his contract. These arrests and allegations are horrible as both involved sexual misconduct involving minors; please note no ROISD students have been involved. Please note, ROISD checks backgrounds upon the hiring of all new staff and subscribes each individual employed to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) system. If any new update on an individual happens, such as an arrest, the District receives a notification as in these situations and the District takes appropriate action at that time. We want to reiterate that neither situation involved ROISD students and the District has cooperated fully with law enforcement for information. More importantly, we want to provide resources for our families regarding student safety.
Gaston is being charged with aggravated sexual assault child, compelling prostitution under age 18 and traficking child engage conduct/sexual. His total bond abount has been at $450,000.
