Highlands County teacher accused of molesting several students: Deputies
AVON PARK, Fla. - A Park Elementary School resource teacher was arrested on Thursday after parents contacted the Highlands County Sheriff's Office and reported that he was inappropriately touching students, according to officials.
Deputies say 45-year-old Jeremy Miles Gray is facing six charges related to lewd and lascivious behavior. According to the School Board of Highlands County, Gray was first hired by the district on November 5, 2020 at Sun ‘n Lake Elementary but has worked at Park Elementary School since 2021.
According to the sheriff's office, they received the first complaint on April 22. Several parents came forward and told authorities that their daughters were touched inappropriately.
According to the arrest report, Gray is accused of intentionally touching the breasts of a child under 12-years-old and intentionally touching the buttocks or clothing covering them of a child under 12-years-old.
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Gray is also accused of hugging a child under the age of 16 all the time, pulling her to him, touching her back and making her shirt come up while rubbing her.
Investigators say Gray also pulled a child under the age of 16 into his lap with two hands and pulled her towards him by placing his hands on her hips.
Courtesy: Highlands County Sheriff's Office
According to officials, the HCSO Special Victims Unit (SVU) continued an investigation on April 23. Detectives say Gray's alleged misconduct was reported by students on April 21.
According to deputies, the students were called to the office and parents of the students were contacted.
Investigators say the Department of Children and Families (DCF) was also contacted, and a report was started. Five kids were scheduled to be forensically interviewed by a Children's Home Society Case Coordinator.
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The investigation revealed that there was a previous incident involving Gray in April 2022 when a teacher reported that he made four girls feel uncomfortable. Officials say school staff investigated and notified DCF. However, DCF declined to accept the report, according to the sheriff's office.
When officials spoke to Gray during that investigation, he told them that he only remembered touching two students when he separated them with his hands because they were "goofing off." Gray was reminded to not put himself in a situation where he was alone with students, according to investigators.
Detectives say when Gray was found and arrested in downtown Sebring on Thursday, he was on the phone with a lawyer's office and declined to speak with SVU detectives. According to HCSO, he did give detectives the name of a different lawyer's office he spoke with on the previous day.
The School Board of Highlands County provided a statement:
An allegation of inappropriate contact with students was made against Park Elementary School resource teacher Jeremy M. Gray. The school district reported these allegations to the Department of Children and Families, and Mr. Gray was removed from the classroom while the allegations were investigated by district administration, the Department of Children and Families, and the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office. As the result of the investigation Mr. Gray was arrested on Thursday, April 25th.
Gray was first hired by the district on November 5th of 2020 at Sun ‘n Lake Elementary, and has been at Park Elementary since 2021. He was placed on Administrative Leave upon being arrested, and his contract has been non-renewed.
As this is still an ongoing investigation, we can make no further comment at this time.
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