A former elementary school principal allegedly helped a teacher with a troubling record of child-abuse accusations change his name and bypass hiring checks before he secured a position teaching vulnerable special-needs students.
Wendy Bailey, the former principal of Crosby Elementary School, is accused of assisting Michael Raymond Roell—who had begun using the name Johnathan Michael—in hiding earlier criminal charges and disciplinary issues before he was hired by Forney Independent School District near Dallas, Texas.
Federal prosecutors allege the scheme allowed Roell to return to an elementary classroom as a special education teacher, a role that paid approximately $67,700 annually.
A federal grand jury indicted Bailey and Roell on Thursday, charging each with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and six counts of wire fraud.
According to prosecutors, the pair deliberately worked to circumvent safeguards intended to keep educators with serious misconduct allegations or disciplinary histories from returning to schools.
“The allegations in this indictment represent a profound violation of trust,” Ryan Raybould, the US attorney for the Northern District of Texas, said.
“A school is supposed to be a place where children are safe and protected, not a place where an educator with a known history of misconduct can walk back into a classroom because someone in a position of authority helped him hide who he really was—a predator that targets special needs children.”
The allegations outlined by prosecutors date back nearly a decade.
Prosecutors allege former principal Wendy Bailey helped Michael Raymond Roell hide his troubled history and get through the district’s hiring process
Michael Raymond Roell legally adopted the name Johnathan Michael before obtaining a special education teaching position, according to prosecutors
On June 6, 2016, Roell was arrested in Dallas County and charged with indecency with a child involving sexual contact after allegations arose concerning a student at Garland Independent School District, where he was employed.
Prosecutors allege he touched at least one student in the groin area and watched the child use a restroom. Garland ISD later terminated him.
The indictment states that Roell’s employment record contained other warning signs as well.
While working in other school districts, he was allegedly placed on leave several times in connection with abuse-related allegations, prosecutors said.
Bailey allegedly knew about that history. Rather than disclose it when Roell later applied for a position at her school, prosecutors claim she helped him keep it hidden.
“Principal Bailey coached Roell on how that name change would evade a background check,” Raybould said at a news conference announcing the charges.
The indictment says Roell legally changed his name from Michael Raymond Roell to Johnathan Michael before applying for a job with Forney ISD.
With Bailey’s alleged encouragement, prosecutors say, he submitted an application that left out his former identity, criminal charges, alleged misconduct and disciplinary record.
Photos posted on the school’s Facebook page portray Wendy Bailey as a popular principal who was well regarded by teachers and staff
Online images depict Bailey as a supportive principal who backed the school’s teaching staff
Bailey allegedly used her position as principal to champion his candidacy and participated in hiring communications that helped propel the application through the process.
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Federal investigators say emails, text messages and employment documents reveal the pair coordinating to conceal information that could have prevented Roell from being hired.
‘This indictment demonstrates the lengths these two defendants went to circumvent a hiring process meant to keep our schools and students safe,’ FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock said.
‘We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that students not only receive a good education, but that education is provided in a safe environment.’
The alleged scheme succeeded.
In October 2025, Roell – under his new legal name – was hired to teach special education at Crosby Elementary School. But his return to the classroom lasted only months.
In May 2026, Texas Rangers arrested Roell on separate state charges of felony child abuse and grooming.
That arrest ultimately led to the federal investigation that resulted in the latest indictment, authorities said.
Federal prosecutors stressed that the new charges against Bailey and Roell concern the alleged concealment of Roell’s prior history during the hiring process rather than determining his guilt over the underlying allegations themselves.
Principal Bailey, left, is pictured alongside another teacher at the school. She now faces 20 years behind bars
But Raybould accused the pair of putting children in danger by allegedly circumventing protections specifically designed to keep troubling histories from being hidden.
‘This office will use every tool available to aggressively prosecute anyone who compromises the safety of children or undermines the integrity of our public institutions,’ Raybould said.
‘These individuals did not just conspire to break the law, they actively and maliciously put children at risk.’
Roell has been in federal custody since August 27, according to authorities.
If convicted of the federal charges, both Roell and Bailey face sentences of up to 20 years in prison as well as the potential forfeiture of proceeds connected to the alleged offenses.
The FBI’s Dallas Field Office led the investigation alongside Homeland Security Investigations Dallas and the Texas Rangers.
Authorities say Wendy Bailey encouraged a teacher to change his name in order to get a job at her school
Authorities say the prosecution is part of Project Safe Schools, a federal initiative aimed at exposing failures to report educator misconduct and preventing potentially dangerous teachers from quietly moving from one school district to another.
Officials have described that practice as ‘passing the trash’ – situations in which educators with known misconduct problems are able to secure jobs elsewhere without their complete history following them.
The initiative is intended to enforce mandatory reporting requirements, increase transparency surrounding investigations of educators and hold administrators and school districts accountable when required safeguards allegedly fail.