A former teacher at a Christian school in Texas has received a 30-day jail sentence for multiple sex crimes involving a minor student, according to court documents.
Kegan Matthew Abram, age 29, worked as a supervisor at Accelerate Christian School in Amarillo, Texas. He was also involved in youth ministry at Accelerate Church before being arrested in October 2024 for sexual crimes.
He was charged with two counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact and one count of an improper relationship between an educator and student.
According to the official complaint, one count of indecency by sexual contact happened on October 15, 2023; the other count of indecency and the improper relationship happened on November 15, 2023. All three counts reportedly involved one victim, who was under the age of 17 and was a student at Accelerate Christian School.
The complaint states that Abram “intentionally and knowingly engage(d) in sexual contact” with the victim, by “causing (the victim) to touch the genitals of the defendant. The defendant acted with the intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of the defendant.”
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Abram pled guilty last week to all three charges. However, the original charges of indecency with a child by sexual contact were reduced to indecent assault as part of the plea deal.
Indecency with a child by sexual conduct is a second-degree felony and would have come with a sentence of 2 to 20 years in prison, and up to a $10,000 fine. Indecent assault is a misdemeanor.
Abram received two years of deferred adjudication for the indecent assault, meaning that the sentencing is postponed for two years while the defendant completes probation. If Abram successfully completes probation, that charge may be dismissed and he will not have a criminal record.
Abram also pled guilty to improper relationship between an educator and student. His sentence is 10 years deferred adjudication with a $10,000 fine, $7,000 of which is suspended. If Abram completes probation, he will not have to pay the $7,000 portion. He will also serve 30 days in jail as a condition of probation.
Part of the deal stipulates that Abram will have no contact with the victim or any sexual contact with persons under the age of 17. He also must not go within 1,000 feet of Accelerate School or church, hold no teaching jobs, and give up all teaching permits. Plus, his victim will have a lifetime protective order against him.
According to a statement from Accelerate Church, Abram was let go from “all positions” immediately after the allegations of sexual crimes came up, as previously reported by The Roys Report (TRR).

Abram is the brother-in-law of Accelerate Church’s Lead Pastor Jeremy Pfeil.
Pfeil made headlines about a year ago for warning congregants that they would be “sniped and taken out” if they “listened to” anyone calling out preachers in televangelist Mark Barclay’s “Righteous Preacher’s Network.” At the time, Barclay’s son-in-law, James Randolph, had been recently charged with sex crimes, as reported by TRR.
Many staff members who run Accelerate Church and School are related to each other, according to former staff member Jamie Hartwell.
Hartwell worked alongside Abram as a fellow supervisor at Accelerate School. She said the teachers were called “supervisors” because many of them were not certified teachers, but their role was to teach students.
She saw Abram daily for several years, and two of her daughters were in Abram’s classes. Hartwell said when they worked together, she observed inappropriate conduct, such as Abram being “very flirtatious” with a female student, letting her sit at his desk, and exhibiting “grooming behavior.”
Hartwell said she also had heard rumors of sexual crimes. But when the allegations came up, Accelerate Church members defended Abram’s actions, saying it wasn’t a big deal.
Hartwell said she is disgusted by Abram’s 30-day sentence.

“I have family members and friends who have served more time than that for unpaid parking tickets,” Hartwell said. “It is disgusting to me. I don’t know how in the world they would give him a sentence like that for abuse of a child, even if it is a guilty plea.”
Hartwell told TRR that her daughter had uncomfortable interactions with Abram.
When Hartwell’s daughter was helping with after school care, Abram once took her off campus to get food without telling Hartwell, Hartwell said. Hartwell’s daughter said nothing inappropriate happened, but added that Abram made her feel “very uncomfortable” when they were alone. Hartwell’s daughter stopped helping with the afterschool program after that, Hartwell said.
Hartwell also alleged the school and church were “very cult-like” because members were afraid to speak out against the family running it.
“You’re controlled by fear,” Hartwell said. “The kids and everyone knows that they’ll get in trouble if they speak out against this family.”
Hartwell said she was fired from Accelerate in 2022, after speaking out about inappropriate behavior she witnessed.
“I worked with kids for 22 years,” she said. “Most people say I’m just paranoid, but I’m the one to say, ‘That was weird,’ or, ‘That was inappropriate,’” she said.
She took her kids out of the school around the same time and wishes that other parents would do the same.
“The fact that everyone knew (Abram’s sex crimes) happened is so bizarre, and nobody was getting their kids and running out of there,” Hartwell said.
Correction 1/30/25: The name of James Randolph was initially misstated as another person and has been corrected.
Fiona Morgan, former editor of the Stanford Interior Journal and Danville Advocate-Messenger and other publications, is a freelance journalist based in Danville, Kentucky.
4 Responses
“Abram received two years of deferred adjudication for the indecent assault, meaning that the sentencing is postponed for two years while the defendant completes probation. If Abram successfully completes probation, that charge may be dismissed and he will not have a criminal record.”
I am very concerned that this condition of his deal will mean that after those two years, this will NOT appear on background checks when he applies to work at other schools and churches to give him access to young people to groom and molest.
disgusting.
That sentencing is CRAZY! How is that allowed?!
Even before reading the comments by Jamie Hartwell, I was thinking, ‘people have got more time in jail for doing a LOT LESS than what he did!’.
Very disturbing sentencing, horrendous crime he has committed!
In my opinion, the defendant knows somebody, or his parents or his attorney does. Otherwise, it is hard to believe that Judge Dee Johnson of the 47th District Court in Randall County, Texas — a self-proclaimed lifelong conservative Republican, member of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church (Amarillo), wife, and mother to two college-aged children — would have accepted this slap-on-the-wrist plea agreement. I don’t want my comments to get censored, but I clicked on the link in the story and read the indictment. Given what the grand jury’s indictment found Kegan Abram to have done (disgusting), this plea agreement stinks to high heaven. On the other hand, this IS Texas where “certain” people get let off for the same conduct that “other” people would have gotten sent to prison for decades. It helps to know somebody around these parts.
Is this for sure the judge? I’m kind of thinking his brother in law and pastor, Jeremy Pfeil, could have helped out with funds to get his name and the church’s name out of the spotlight?! And very quickly!