A former Florida teacher, Kimberly Charles, was arrested on late Thursday for having a sexual relationship with one of her students, a teenage girl, after the incident got reported by another school employee. Charles has been charged with unlawful sexual activity with a minor, according to the police. Both the teacher and the student have admitted to their relationship.
The news comes just days after former Miss Kentucky Ramsey Bethann Bearse was sentenced to two years in prison after she was found guilty of sending nude photos of her to one of her students. Although Charles has been released on bail, she could end up serving a long sentence in jail if proved guilty.
Finally in Custody
West Palm Beach police arrested 27-year-old Charles on Thursday after investigations revealed that she had a sexual relationship with a minor girl, who was one of her students. However, it took more than a year for the police to investigate the allegations after the first complaint was made by one of the school employees.
The police launched an investigation after receiving a complaint from a school board employee in 2019, who reported seeing Charles laying her head in the lap of her 17-year-old student, while her student caressed her hair and head in a lab at the Forest Hill Community High School.
However, that wasn't the reason for arresting and charging Charles of sharing a sexual relationship with her student. Investigations revealed that Charles had a long relationship with the minor and would often indulge in sexual activities with her.
A Series of Accusations
Charles shared a long relationship with the minor student. According to police, the siblings of the teen told them that they seen the two engaged in sex at their home in December 2018. Initially, the student had denied any romantic relationship with her teacher but later during interrogation revealed that they had been dating and would often engage in sexual acts.
Police said that later Charles also confessed to sleeping with her student during the 2018 Christmas break and having sexual contact with her at least till May 2019. Following the allegations, Charles' contract with the school was terminated in June 2019. However, the school is yet to make any comment of Charles' recent arrest.
Under Florida law, only adults aged 23 or younger can have a relationship with someone as young as 17 years old. Charles was 26 when she entered into a sexual relationship with her student. Police said that they have enough evidence to arrest Charles on three counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and one count of indecent exposure. However, Charles was released on a bond of $50,000 but if the charges finally get proved, she might have to serve a long sentence in jail.
