Fla. Teacher’s Alleged Sexual Encounter With 15-Year-Old Boy Was Caught on Surveillance Video
A former Florida high school teacher is accused of having sex with her 15-year-old student and sending him explicit photos, PEOPLE confirms.
Kassandra Moore, 31, was arrested Monday morning at her Bradenton home and charged with four counts of lewd and lascivious battery and one count of transmission of child pornography, Bradenton Police Department Captain Brian Thiers announced at a press conference later that day.
Bradenton police were first notified of the alleged sexual relationship in April when they were contacted by The Broach School, where Moore taught the boy.
When asked by a reporter how the pair’s relationship became sexual, Thiers replied, “It seems like she was a very friendly teacher liked by most of her students, [and] that led to him being a little more friendly with her in a private setting on a message system. How it evolved to the physical side of it, I don’t know that answer.”
The school became aware of the alleged relationship after the 15-year-old student told another student he was having sex with Moore, Thiers said. According to a probable cause affidavit, the teen even sent the other student screenshots of conversations between him and Moore on Instagram, the Bradenton Herald reports.
When police interviewed the teen, he turned over screenshots of explicit selfies Moore had sent him and also detailed the four times he and Moore met to have sex, the affidavit alleges.
“This is a person that has no business having any involvement with children. This is to me a predatory-type person,” Thiers said Monday.
Moore and the teen allegedly had sex four times between March 23 and March 29, the affidavit states, according to the Herald. They would have sex either in her car or in a secluded area in a local park, the affidavit alleges.
The teen brought investigators to the spot where he threw out condoms, and investigators found a used condom that had Moore’s DNA, the affidavit alleges.
One of the pair’s alleged meetings was taped on a surveillance camera, the Herald reports.
Thiers alleged Moore tried to cover up her crimes by asking another teacher and a former student to cover for her. Both the teacher and student are cooperating with police.
Moore is currently being held in Manatee County on bond. It was not immediately clear if she had entered a plea and attorney information for her was unavailable.
In a comment to WWSB, Rich Wead, the president of Children’s Educational Services, the nonprofit that runs The Broach, said, “Our students and families are our top priority and we are deeply saddened by these allegations. Once we were notified of the allegations, we immediately reported them to the appropriate authorities and the teacher was terminated. All employees of CES are thoroughly vetted and complete a thorough FDLE background screening prior to employment. We take these allegations very seriously and are doing everything we can to facilitate the investigation. Due to the confidentiality nature involving a minor child/student and to maintain the integrity of the ongoing investigation, we are prohibited from further comment.”
Thiers said he believes this to be an isolated incident, but he asks any possible victims to contact Detective Michael Page at 941-932-9314.
Photo Credit: start.att.net