Joshua Nguyen Lawsuit: Trafficking Charges and District Claims

The Joshua Nguyen lawsuit is a civil case filed on May 1, 2026 in Aransas County, Texas, by the parents of a minor former student who accuse the ex-Rockport-Fulton High School teacher of years of sexual abuse and accuse the school district, its principal, the teacher’s two brothers, and a nonprofit he co-founded of enabling or participating in the harm. The suit (Cause No. 26-0085) seeks more than $10 million in damages and is one of the earliest test cases of a new Texas law that lets public school districts be held civilly liable for employee sexual misconduct.¹

Who Is Being Sued

The petition, brought on behalf of a minor identified as J.D. by parents using the pseudonyms John and Jane Doe, names six defendants: Joshua Lee Nguyen; his brothers Brandon Nguyen and Brennen Nguyen; Rockport-Fulton Independent School District; high school principal Jodi Carter; and Texas Coastal Academy, a nonprofit maritime vocational program Joshua Nguyen co-founded that operated on district property.¹

What Joshua Nguyen Is Accused Of

Nguyen, 41, was a maritime science teacher at Rockport-Fulton High School and director of the Texas Coastal Academy. The lawsuit alleges he began grooming the student when she was 14 or 15 and continued a sexual relationship with her until she was 17, from roughly 2023 through 2025. According to the petition, he isolated her under cover of his teaching role and his leadership of the academy: driving her home, taking her to prom, inviting her to his residence, and sending her parents photos and academic updates as a way to earn their trust.¹

Investigators concluded the alleged relationship occurred during the 2024–25 school year and continued into the summer of 2025. Nguyen left the district in September 2025, and his Texas teaching certificate was indefinitely suspended.² His attorney has said the defense plans to “vigorously defend against the accusations.”³

The Brothers and a Trafficking Investigation

Brandon and Brennen Nguyen are accused in the lawsuit of participating in the sexual assault and statutory rape of J.D. The petition also alleges that a third party was offered access to the minor for sexual purposes, prompting a law enforcement investigation into possible sex trafficking and prostitution of a minor involving the two brothers. The minor reportedly disclosed in February 2026 that Brandon Nguyen had pressured her into sexual acts on multiple occasions. Neither brother has been criminally charged.⁴

What the School District and Principal Allegedly Did

The suit accuses Rockport-Fulton ISD of gross negligence in hiring and supervising Nguyen and of ignoring warning signs. The plaintiffs allege that Principal Jodi Carter learned of an inappropriate relationship between Nguyen and the student sometime after September 1, 2025, but did not tell the parents and did not report the suspected abuse to law enforcement as required by Texas mandatory reporting laws.³

The petition also alleges Nguyen installed personal cameras in his classroom and that Carter was aware of them, but the district never sought access to the footage or investigated why they were there.¹ Rockport-Fulton ISD has declined to comment on the lawsuit.³

Why Texas Coastal Academy Is a Defendant

Texas Coastal Academy is sued on theories of negligent hiring, negligent screening, and vicarious liability. The lawsuit alleges the nonprofit served as a vehicle for Nguyen to build trust with the student’s family and to isolate her, operating as an after-school program on Rockport-Fulton ISD property with the district’s permission.⁵ The organization has denied the allegations against it.³

Legal Claims and Damages

The plaintiffs plead gross negligence, civil sexual assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent hiring and supervision, failure to report suspected abuse, and vicarious liability. They seek more than $10 million covering pain and suffering, medical expenses, loss of earning capacity, and punitive damages.⁴

The New Texas Law Behind the District Claim

The claims against Rockport-Fulton ISD depend on a Texas law that took effect September 1, 2025. House Bill 4623, passed by the 89th Legislature, created Chapter 118 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code and waived the sovereign immunity that had long shielded public school districts from most civil suits. A district can now be held liable if it was grossly negligent in hiring, supervising, or employing an employee who commits sexual misconduct against a student, or who fails to report suspected abuse.⁶

The law caps damages against the district at $500,000 per claimant, plus court costs and attorney’s fees, and applies only to acts or omissions on or after September 1, 2025. That timing is why the petition emphasizes that Carter’s alleged knowledge of the relationship and her failure to report it occurred after that date; conduct predating the effective date is not covered by the waiver.⁷

The Criminal Case

The civil suit runs parallel to a criminal prosecution. The Rockport Police Department arrested Nguyen on December 22, 2025 on two second-degree felony charges: sexual assault of a child and improper relationship between an educator and a student. He was released on $100,000 bond.²

Where Things Stand

The civil lawsuit is in its early stages, having been filed May 1, 2026. Joshua Nguyen’s criminal case on the two felony counts is pending. Brandon and Brennen Nguyen remain under investigation but face no criminal charges. Rockport-Fulton ISD has not publicly commented, and no public statement from Principal Jodi Carter has been reported.³

1
KRIS-TV. Family Sues Rockport-Fulton ISD, Former Teacher and Others Over Alleged Sexual Abuse of Minor Student
2
Crossroads Today. Former Rockport-Fulton ISD Educator Faces Sexual Assault Charges
3
South Texas News. Parents Sue Rockport-Fulton ISD, Former Teacher Over Alleged Sexual Abuse of Student
4
Texas Scorecard. Rockport-Fulton ISD Nguyen Lawsuit Plaintiffs Original Petition
5
Texas Scorecard. Former Rockport-Fulton ISD Teacher Sued for Raping Student
6
Texas Legislature. H.B. No. 4623
7
TASBO. New Law Expands School District Liability for Employee Misconduct