The man has been charged with sexual battery by a custodial authority and was booked at Hillsborough County Jail.
The 43-year-old is accused of engaging in inappropriate sexual activity with a 16-year-old female student on more than one occasion in April of this year.
Investigators said the man was acting in authority as a teacher at Ridgewood High School during that time.
A person with familial authority or custodial authority that is accused of sexual battery is in hot water. A custodian is considered someone you has custody of another person, or in a teacher’s case, someone who has a duty or responsible to care for the other.
A familial authority or custodial authority committing sexual battery is ranked as a level 9 under the Florida Criminal Punishment Code. This is classified as a first-degree felony which is punishable up to life in prison. As mentioned before, this crime is serious and must be dealt with accordingly. If you have been charged with this crime, please give our Florida Sex Crimes Attorneys at Whittel & Melton a call at 727-847-2299 for a free consultation. We like to get involved as soon as possible so that we can gather any pertinent information that will help establish a strong defense for your case.
No two sex crimes cases are the same. These types of cases are very fact specific and results depend heavily on the facts related to the event(s) in question. Contact us today to learn more about how we may be able to help you.