EVANSVILLE — A former Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation nurse accused of grooming a 13-year-old student is scheduled to stand trial in late 2026, court records state.
Abby N. Render, 40, of Elberfeld, faces a Level 5 felony charge of child solicitation and a Level 6 felony charge of dissemination of matter harmful to minors. She entered a not-guilty plea at her initial hearing in March and remains free on a $2,445 bond.
According to court records, Render is now tentatively scheduled to stand trial in Vanderburgh Circuit Court beginning Dec. 14. Render’s attorney, Christopher Bjerke of Evansville-based Danks and Danks, said the December trial date was picked to ensure the case would not be hampered by “court congestion.”
Prosecutors formally charged Render in March after Evansville Police Department detectives allegedly uncovered more than 1,100 text messages between Render and the student — messages Detective Zachary Oxford described in a sworn affidavit as “romantic” and sexually explicit in nature.
Phone records also showed more than 76 calls between the two over roughly five weeks, Oxford wrote.
The EVSC terminated Render’s employment in October 2025 after a family member of the victim called 911 to report the messages, EVSC spokesman Jason Woebkenberg previously told the Courier & Press.
Public records listed Render as a licensed practical nurse at the Academy for Innovative Studies’ Diamond Avenue campus.
According to her arrest affidavit, Render repeatedly directed the victim, a 13-year-old boy, to delete their conversations, expressed jealousy when he interacted with girls his own age and brought him to her home on at least one occasion. She also allegedly shared “highly sexualized” TikTok videos with him, according to Oxford’s affidavit.
“Goodnight! I love you so much,” Render allegedly wrote to the student in a Sept. 30 message replete with a heart emoji. “Call me when you wake up!”
Render’s attorney said she “continues to adamantly maintain her innocence.”
“I intend to provide Abby [Render] with the calculated, yet relentless representation I strive to provide to all my clients,” Bjerke said.
Houston Harwood may be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Trial date set for former EVSC nurse accused of grooming 13 year old
Reporting by Houston Harwood, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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By Houston Harwood, Evansville Courier & Press | USA TODAY Network
