OCTOBER 20--A Texas biology teacher is facing a felony rap for allegedly having sex with a high school student who triggered a criminal probe after sharing with his friends an explicit Snapchat photo that was sent to him by the educator.

Ashley Zehnder, 24, is named in a felony complaint accusing her of having an improper relationship with a 17-year-old student at Pasadena High School, where the science teacher also serves as assistant cheer coach. The victim is a member of the cheer squad.

As detailed in a probable cause affidavit, Zehnder this month approached a school administrator to express “concerns about rumors of students texting around an inappropriate photo of herself.” Zehnder, the affidavit notes, reported that a student could have surreptitiously “gotten on her phone and sent the picture.”

In short order, an assistant principal interviewed a male student who admitted having a naked photo of Zehnder (who is pictured at right). The teen added that he was provided the image by a classmate who spoke of having a sexual relationship with Zehnder.

When interviewed by police, the second teen admitted that he began having sex with Zehnder last May. He gave cops a description of Zehnder’s Houston apartment and bedroom, as well as details of their sexual encounters. The teen also said that Zehnder sent him a “naked photo of herself through Snapchat,” an image he forwarded to “some of his friends at school.”

During police questioning, Zehnder initially denied any relationship with the student. But after being “confronted with the phone messages” on the boy’s phone, Zehnder admitted having sex with the teenager.

Zehnder (seen in the adjacent mug shot) appeared today in a Houston courtroom, where a judge set her bail at $10,000.

Zehnder, an Ohio native, is a Kent State University graduate, according to her Facebook page. Zehnder resigned her teaching position shortly after investigators began examining her relationship with the boy. (2 pages)