Fla. Teacher Allegedly Sexually Abused 15-Year-Old, Told Police 'She Was in Love With the Boy'
A Florida English teacher is accused of sexually abusing a 15-year-old male student, and the alleged sexual contact was recorded by the boy on video, according to multiple reports.
PEOPLE confirms from Miami-Dade County court records that Desiree Christina Cartin Rodriguez, 27, faces two counts of lewd and lascivious assault of a child.
News station Local 10, citing Doral police, reports that authorities were alerted to the allegations after an employee at Doral Academy Preparatory School received an anonymous email.
Police then spoke to the freshman boy who alleged he had been having a sexual relationship with Rodriguez beginning in August 2019 and that he had recorded encounters with her on video, WSVN reports.
After reviewing the footage and confirming the identities of the parties, Rodriguez was brought in for questioning and allegedly confessed Friday morning, the Miami Herald reports.
“The young man took the video; the video was not hidden,” Doral Police spokesperson Rey Valdes told WSVN. “It wasn’t like it was a hidden camera. She was aware that there was video. You can clearly tell by the proximity of her face to the camera that she was aware she was being filmed.”
Valdes added that Rodriguez allegedly “admitted to being involved in the relationship, even went as far as telling our detectives she was in love with the boy.”
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WSVS reports Rodriguez has been fired from the school.
Local 10 reports that Rodriguez’ photo and information has been removed from the school’s website, but prior to that, Rodriguez had written to parents, “I am thrilled to introduce myself as your child’s English teacher for the 2019-2020 school year. I graduated magna cum laude from Florida International University.”
Court records show Rodriguez has bonded out of jail. She is scheduled for a court hearing on Jan. 21.
It wasn’t immediately clear if she has entered a plea and court records do not reflect an attorney who might speak on her behalf.
