Pasco substitute accused of lewd acts with teen

NEW PORT RICHEY (FOX 13) - A 20-year-old substitute teacher in Pasco County faces charges related to a sexual relationship he had with a teen, according to the sheriff's office. 

Pasco County sheriff's detectives arrested Brian Germani, of Spring Hill, Tuesday and charged him with lewd and lascivious battery.

He's accused of a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old, who has since turned 15 and was not a student at the school where Germani worked. Arrest records show Germani admitted to kissing the victim, then requested a lawyer. 

Meanwhile, Pasco County School's Linda Cobbe spoke to FOX 13 about the system's substitute hiring procedures. 

Cobbe said substitutes are fingerprinted and a level-2 background check is performed, which includes the entire United States and the FBI databases. She said if something like this had been in Germani's previous record, he would not have been hired. 

"We had no indication this behavior was going to happen," Cobbe explained. "We have never had any reports, that I'm aware of, of him acting inappropriate with any of our students."

The inappropriate relationship supposedly happened between July and December of 2015. After detectives found out about the relationship, they coordinated a monitored and recorded phone conversation between the victim and Germani.

Detectives said during the call, they talked about sexual encounters between the two. Germani told the victim to tell her family she was lying about those encounters because it could ruin his life, according to an affidavit. 

Students at one of the schools Germani filled in as a substitute said the allegations were "disgusting," as Gulf High junior Shianne Peterson put it. 

"I think he should definitely get charged. You know better than that. You don't mess with a 14-year-old," she said. "They shouldn't allow someone like that around kids." 

The school system agreed, firing Germani Wednesday. 

Germani was held at the Land O' Lakes Detention Center, then released Wednesday on a $10,000 bond.

Cobbe added, the requirements for Pasco County Schools substitute teachers include being 18 years or older and having a high school diploma.