Albuquerque, New Mexico Christian School teacher arrested, accused of sexually abusing student
June 24, 2025 - KRQE News and KOB4
ALBUQUERQUE, NM. — “U.S. Marshalls arrested a Hope Christian School teacher in Idaho on Thursday. He is accused of sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl. Albuquerque police said 66-year-old Kelly McEachran touched the student inappropriately, both over and under her clothes, over several weeks. A warrant was put out for his arrest earlier in the week.
McEachran is being charged with criminal sexual contact of minor under the age of 13 and criminal sexual penetration of a minor under the age of 13. The student’s parents told the school about it back in April, and he was put on administrative leave. Police believe there may have been other victims.”
From the Hope Christian School website: Hope Christian School is a “non-denominational, coeducational Christ-centered school in NE Albuquerque, serving families of children from preschool to high school. Since its founding in 1976, Hope Christian School has prayed for, equipped, and sent nearly 3,500 graduates to change the world. Annually, Hope Christian School educates approximately 1,200 students from Preschool through 12th grade.”
“Kelly McEachran is facing multiple charges, including rape and criminal sexual contact of a minor. Albuquerque police say the Hope Christian Elementary school teacher, inappropriately touched an 11-year-old girl during class, while she was at his desk to ask him questions.
According to court documents, this happened multiple times a week, for several months.
“Cases like this can be difficult, especially when it’s a person in a position of trust and power as a school teacher has, but Hope Christian worked really well with our team in making sure that the kid’s safety was a priority, which we appreciate, and so did the adults in her life,” said APD Commander Kyle Hartsock with the Criminal investigation Division. “He doesn’t have a criminal history, but he’s worked at Hope Christian. It looks like for a decade, we don’t have the exact time, but at least one of the parents of this child was actually taught by him as a child, so he’s been there long enough to be teaching the next generation of kids.”
Hartsock says this shows there could be other victims.
“I’ve been doing this for 22 years, and it’s pretty rare that you’re going to go your whole life, especially around kids, and all of a sudden, at this certain age, decades later, you just start doing this to a child. It’s much more likely that he’s had other victims, and they have been scared, coerced or threatened to not come forward, or they just believe that they wouldn’t be believed,” said Hartsock.” - Alika Medina KOB4
Mr. McEachran, who denies the charges, has been a teacher and administrator at Hope Christian School for 35 years.
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