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Teaching assistant charged with Sexual Assault

On Behalf of | May 30, 2014 | Sex Crimes

How do we define “improper behavior” and how can it be settled legally?  A local 25 year-old man is about to find out.

The man is a high school teaching assistant who was arrested on two counts of sexual assault with a victim 16 or 17 years old. Deputies said investigators received information of some inappropriate text messages sent between the man and several students. During their investigation, deputies discovered a sexual relationship had occurred between the 25 year-old and a 17-year-old female student over the past few months. All of their alleged sexual encounters took place at his apartment.

His position at the high school was multifaceted. He supervised virtual courses, handled in-school suspensions and was also an assistant football coach. So he had plenty of interaction with the students. Due to these charges, his contract with the high school was not renewed for next year. Like in so many of these cases, the suspect always seems to lose their job even before truth comes out.

Sometimes a sex crime charge like this one can lead to the possibility of false charges. A majority of alleged sex crimes are not witnessed, so there is hope for this young man and his defense lawyer. The only tricky navigation involves the sent text messages. 

While the ages 25 and 17 don’t seem that far apart, in the state of Florida the age of consent in Florida is 18. It is illegal for anyone over the age of 24 to have sex with anyone under the age of 18, unless they are married. Timing is everything I suppose. Statutory rape is a crime taken very seriously. The consent of the younger person or you being fooled about their age is not a viable defense. 

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