Texas mayor accused of child sex assault

A tiny central Texas city has ousted its mayor after he was accused of sexually assaulting an elementary school girl, officials said.

Charlie Stewart Sr. was dismissed a the mayor of Nolanville on Thursday after he missed three consecutive meetings, a city official said.

The former mayor faces a felony charge of aggravated assault of a child, and was being held Friday in the Bell County Jail under $500,000 bail, jail records show.

Nolanville is just east of Killeen in western Bell County, about 183 miles northwest of Houston.

Stewart was also a campus technologist at Manor Middle School in the Killeen Independent School District.

In mid-July, the district placed Stewart on administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal investigation, school officials said. Stewart resigned his position effective July 30.

He had worked for the district since October 2001.

Under Nolanville's city charter, the City Council may dismiss any council member who misses three consecutive meetings. Stewart has missed at least three meetings, officials said.

Mayor Pro-Tem Brenda Huckaba will serve as mayor until the general election in November.

Stewart was arrested on July 20 after hospital officials at Scott & White Healthcare in Temple contacted police about a child sexual assault victim, authorities said. No details about the case were immediately available.

Killeen school officials said in a news release that Stewart had passed previous background checks.

"A background check was conducted in 2001 upon Mr. Stewart's hiring," according to the statement. "The district also runs yearly background checks on employees. Mr. Stewart passed each background check that was conducted."

Stewart was sworn in as mayor in May 2010.

robert.stanton@chron.com

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