April 24, 2002
A North Texas junior high teacher was released on bond Monday after being arrested on a charge of displaying harmful material to minors.

In Joshua, a town south of Fort Worth, police said students at Loflin Middle School told them Lester Van Dyke, 40, presented adult material to his classes throughout this school year.

"He would show us dirty jokes and pictures of naked people on the Internet," eighth-grade student Nicole Robinson said.

Police said they recieved a six page confession from Van Dyke on Friday afternoon.

"(The students) told me that he would turn the computer around and show the nude photos to them, and make jokes about them," Joshua Police Lt. Annabeth Baker said.

Several students also said that Van Dyke, who was a coach and taught science classes, went even further in some cases.

"He would rub on people's legs, look down shirts, and talk to us about sex," Robinson said.
Parents picking up their children were very upset by the news.

"It's sad," one parent said. "It's really sick."

"I'm very stunned that you didn't think that was a problem," one mother told her son.

Individual students said they were reluctant to speak out about the issue because they didn't want to be the only one to say anything. Some students also said they were afraid Van Dyke would flunk them if they told anyone, or that they wanted to protect him because they liked him as a teacher.

Van Dyke was arrested after a teacher overheard students in the lunchroom talking about seeing the pornography.