No bond for former teacher accused of having sexual relations with student
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Students and parents are reacting to the news of a former Gaither High School art teacher who was arrested and accused of having sexual relations with a student.
“That was so bad,” Gaither High School student Samerly Gonzalez said. “He’s a teacher, so that’s not good.”
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Kristen Mayer has several children who attend the high school. She said she knew about the allegations before an arrest was made.
“Not happy about it,” she said. “But I’m glad they kind of found out.”
“How they’ve handled it, I’ve been okay with,” she continued.
That former teacher is 46-year-old Brian Singleton.
Investigators interviewed the student who said the sex acts happened within a closet of a classroom.
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The student told deputies the sexual discussions began in late September, and the first sexual encounter happened on October 5.
Court documents detail those sex acts continued for weeks, eventually on an almost daily basis.
“This individual decided to commit sexual acts in the school,” Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Carolina Montelongo explained. “He betrayed the trust that parents that the staff put on him.”
In his court hearing Friday, Singleton’s attorney tried to get the judge to grant some sort of bond.
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He spoke on the former teacher’s cooperation with detectives.
“[The detective] wanted Mr. Singleton to turn himself in within 24 hours,” Singleton’s attorney Anthony Duran said in court. “Obviously, we facilitated that and got him turned in about 2 and a half hours later”
“So he’s been cooperative this entire time,” Duran continued. “He’s not a flight risk.”
Despite the attorney’s argument, singleton is staying behind bars.
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