Teacher ‘had sex with 12-year-old student’ at school after making her stay back for ‘tutorials’
A teacher was arrested after allegedly having sex in his classroom with a 12-year-old student whom he called his “girlfriend” several times.
David Augustine Hodge Jr. (30) from Florida was charged on Wednesday, February 1 with four counts for engaging in sexual acts with a child after the girl’s parents discovered the alleged abuse and reported him.
According to NBC 6, police accused Hodge, a science teacher and chess club mentor at West Homestead K-8 Center, of grooming the girl, who is now 13, in October last year.
Police say that he and the girl started communicating via text and Instagram to discuss school-related topics. But, the conversation turned sexual.
Police interviewed the girl and she said that they eventually began exchanging nude photos.
In November, Hodge asked the girl to meet him in class on Friday afternoons, after chess club had ended. He told the student to tell her parents she was staying late for tutoring, police said.
Hodge is accused of having sex with the girl twice and engaging in other sex acts multiple times between November and last month.
The girl told detectives that she believed Hodge was her boyfriend and that they were in a romantic and sexual relationship together. The teacher allegedly confessed when questioned by cops, the NBC report adds.
The school district said they immediately removed Hodge from the campus when the girl’s parents reported the allegations and he is in the process of being fired.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools is deeply troubled by the disturbing allegations made against this individual,? a statement from the district said.
As soon as the claims surfaced, the employee was immediately removed from the school setting. After a thorough investigation by the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department, this individual was subsequently arrested. Conduct such as the one he is accused of will not be tolerated.
As such, the District has initiated employment termination proceedings, and will ensure the individual is precluded from seeking future employment with the District.?
Hodge is being held at the Miami-Dade County Jail after a judge on Thursday, February 2, refused bond
