KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Court documents unsealed Wednesday offered additional details behind sex crimes charges filed earlier this year against former Olathe North High School choir teacher Micah Horton.
Horton, 35, was arrested on March 12 and faces three felony sex crime charges in Johnson County District Court. He remains in custody at the Johnson County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond.
Judge Thomas M. Sutherland unsealed the affidavit on Wednesday, which shows Olathe School District officials contacted Olathe police on Feb. 13, 2024, after they learned that Horton was allegedly exchanging messages on social media app Snapchat with at least three students.
At least one of the students was in a class taught by Horton.
Court documents allege the exchange of messages included sexually explicit photos of both Horton and one of the students.
Investigators learned that one of the three students became involved in a physical relationship with Horton starting in November 2023. The student told investigators that she met Horton on several occasions, with the two allegedly meeting at parks around Johnson County and Horton’s home in Shawnee.
The student said Horton would wait until the end of music rehearsals and the pair would allegedly “sneak into a storage closet to the choir room and make out" at the high school.
Cell phone location data reviewed by police showed the student visited Horton’s home at least three times in December 2023 and into January 2024.
The affidavit indicates investigators met with Horton on Feb. 26, 2024, at his home. Horton allegedly told detectives he knew why they were there, that he had already secured legal counsel and did not plan to provide a statement.
On Feb. 27, the Olathe School District’s Board of Education terminated Horton after meeting in executive session, but didn’t provide additional details at the time. The termination prompted a letter to parents from Olathe North Principal Jason Herman.
The court case against Horton continues with a scheduling conference set for April 24. He first appeared before a judge in a hearing on March 13.
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