Jupiter teacher arrested on charges of unlawful sexual activity with former student
JUPITER — Police have arrested an Independence Middle School teacher, alleging he had sex with a teenager in his classroom two years ago, following a lengthy history of inappropriate behavior with students at the Jupiter school, according to an arrest report.
Daniel Heath Norment, 41, sometimes took students into his classroom closet to "counsel them," and as coach of the girls' basketball team two years ago, he allowed the students to change their clothes inside his classroom after school hours, the police report states.
"It was determined that he would stand outside until the girls changed into their school's sports uniforms," the report continues. "It was also known on school campus that Norment had girls come to class after school to visit or help him with administrative paperwork."
Police said the school reprimanded Norment several times and removed him from the coaching position, but he continued teaching until early March, when school district police received information that a 16-year-old girl "was coerced into having sex" while visiting Norment at the school about two years ago, according to the report.
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Norment, an employee at Independence for about six years, was reassigned to a position away from the school after police began investigating, Principal Amber Saunders said in a message to families this week.
And the two-month investigation culminated in Norment's arrest on Tuesday afternoon, when police charged him with one count of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and one count of sex offense against students by authority figures, both second-degree felonies.
He remained at the Palm Beach County Jail with his bail set at $100,000 Wednesday morning. Court records indicate that the Palm Beach County Public Defender's Office is representing Norment. As a policy, it does not comment on open cases.
Investigation into Independence Middle teacher began this year
On March 11, the Jupiter Police Department contacted school district police with a tip about a sexual battery that allegedly happened at Independence about about two years ago.
One of Norment's former students – now in college – felt compelled to speak out after the incident began to weigh on her mind, according to the police report.
She attended the school from sixth to eighth grade, and Norment would tell the girl she was "different and mature for her age," police said, citing an interview with the former student.
The teacher gave her "good grades for doing nothing" and the student "felt Norment was just being nice to her," the police report continues.
They later exchanged phone numbers, and after the student moved on to high school, she would sometimes visit Norment in his middle school classroom to hang out, talk and help with paperwork or cleaning, the student told police.
With time, Norment allegedly "progressed in his affection" and told the student he was "falling in love." Then, when the student was in 10th or 11th grade, police said, Norment took her by the hand, led her to a classroom closet and coerced the teenager into having sex, according to the arrest report.
He then "walked her out to the parking lot telling her he loved her again," the arrest report states.
A week later, around the same time that Norment was being "disciplined for conduct ethics" at Independence, administrators at the girl's high school asked about "Norment and her relationship."
"Victim #1 told me that she was embarrassed and told the staff nothing had ever occurred," the police report states. "She was instructed to not visit Norment at the school after or during school hours."
According to the police report, the student never spoke with Norment again, and during the last school year, as he faced continued inquiries into his behavior with students, the teacher was told to stop having youth visitors at Independence.
He was then moved to a position away from students after police launched their investigation this year.
“If you, or your student, have information that you feel would be important to share with investigators, please call School District Police Dispatch at (561) 434-8700,” the Independence Middle School principal said in her message to families on Tuesday.
Giuseppe Sabella is an education reporter at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at gsabella@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism and subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Police arrest Jupiter teacher alleging sexual relationship with student
