A Fairfax County Public Schools teacher is facing multiple charges after police said he had inappropriate contact with a child and tried to leave the country once he found out he was being investigated.
Matthew Snell, 31, of Maryland, was arrested Friday at an airport in El Paso, Texas, the Fairfax County police said in a statement. Snell is a teacher at Thoreau Middle School in Vienna, Virginia; The Associated Press reported that he is listed as a learning-disabilities teacher.
Police said he has been charged with carnal knowledge of a child and taking indecent liberties with a child by person in custodial relationship.
On Thursday, parents contacted the school after finding inappropriate text messages from Snell to their teenage child, police said. Detectives worked to corroborate the information and obtain arrest warrants; when Snell learned of the ongoing investigation, he left.
The U.S. Marshals Service took him into custody in Texas. The Fairfax County police said Snell will be extradited back to the county to face charges.
Police did not say whether the victim was one of Snell’s students.
It is unclear whether Snell has a lawyer.
Anyone with more information about Snell, or may have had inappropriate contact with him, can call Fairfax County police’s Major Crimes Bureau detectives at (703) 246-7800.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
