PALESTINE — A Palestine High School band director is accused of having an over two-year improper relationship with a student.

Adrian Alonso, 37, of Palestine, was arrested Jan. 12 in Tarrant County while away on a school trip on an improper educator/student relationship charge.

Arrest documents state Alonso started touching the student inappropriately soon after the teen experienced a tragedy and he was consoling the teen.

Investigators said the relationship, including sexual contact with the student, began in 2020.

According to the arrest affidavit, the teenager recently told the Palestine Police Department they became close to Alonso when he began comforting the teen after a tragedy the teen experienced. At one point, the student felt like Alonso was a “father figure.”

The affidavit said when the school shut down due to COVID-19, he would come to the teen’s house and take the teen to band practice. As time went on, Alonso progressively started touching the student inappropriately, which the student said happened on multiple occasions.

The student told police the relationship with Alonso continued until the fall of 2022. Multiple messages in a text thread between the student and Alonso described a physical relationship between the two of them, the affidavit read.

Alonso is awaiting extradition to Anderson County and he’s being held on a $500,000 bond.