A judge in Jefferson County, Missouri, denied bond Wednesday for a middle school special education teacher facing multiple felony charges related to inappropriate sexual contact with a student. 

Zachery Robert Leonard, 42, was arrested last week and charged with enticement of a child, two counts of third-degree child molestation and two counts of sexual contact with a student. He worked as a special education teacher at Fox Middle School in Arnold, a suburb of St. Louis. 

Investigators said they discovered hundreds of sexually explicit text messages between Leonard and a victim under 14 years old. According to court documents, the messages, dated from April to early May, included requests to perform sexual acts. A third party found the messages on the victim’s phone and contacted police. 

The victim told police that Leonard kissed and touched her inappropriately inside his classroom on two separate dates in April. School security footage showed the two were alone in the classroom for 48 minutes on April 28 and 66 minutes on April 30, investigators said. 

Police later seized Leonard’s phone and reported finding the conversations along with requests for inappropriate photos. Court documents reveal Leonard sent a message stating, “I needed to touch your skin so bad, so I had to lift your shirt up.” 

Leonard also allegedly admitted to sending sexual text messages to a student during a recorded phone call to his father from the Arnold Police Station. 

The judge ordered Leonard to remain held in jail without bond following a review hearing Wednesday. He won’t be released before his next court appearance, which is scheduled for June 17. The judge also issued a protective order in the case.