A former assistant football coach at Gatesville Junior High School, who pleaded guilty March 28 to delivery of a controlled substance after being accused of supplying varsity players with injectable testosterone, learned his sentence Wednesday.
The judge sentenced Aaron Mueller, 27, to one year in state jail but probated that sentence for three years -- meaning Mueller will not serve jail time unless he gets in more trouble and his sentence is revoked in the next three years.
Reached by email Thursday, Coryell County District Attorney Dusty Boyd said the felony conviction would prevent Mueller from teaching again.
"That’s important because the nature of this offense is a break in the trust that public school teachers inherently are charged with," Boyd explained. "Administrators across the State of Texas hire teachers to facilitate the growth and education of our children. That trust is one of the most important, if not the most important, dynamic we give to teachers. Mr. Mueller’s decision to not only have the knowledge of what was transpiring but to also encourage it by facilitating the use of illegal narcotics is not only dangerous, but also a sever deviation in that trust."
Boyd described the case as being difficult to prosecute due to the dynamics involved.
"We had to navigate engaging young students in the investigation as well as their parents," Boyd said. "We had to engage the school and its administrators. As well as dealing with a defendant who had never before been involved in a felony offense. All those dynamics combined made it challenging."
The investigation began in the summer of 2017, and Mueller was indicted in November 2017. Wednesday's sentencing lasted roughly an hour, according to Boyd.
Last fall, the State Executive Committee (SEC) overruled the suspension handed down by the 13-4A District Executive Committee and allowed the six Gatesville High School football players at the center of the testosterone scandal to play because none of the players had been charged with a crime.