Many serve little jail time for having sex with students

I-TEAM exposes stunning double standard for teachers

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The I-TEAM is exposing a startling trend involving local teachers arrested for having sex with Duval, St. Johns and Clay county students. A closer look at some of the arrests and jail sentences reveal most teachers do little jail time.

We examined cases from January 2012 to July 2015, and found 10 male and female teachers were accused of having sex with their students during that three-and-a-half-year time period. But, only two teachers received a lengthy jail sentence prompting the question: Are local teachers accused of having sex with students catching a break through plea deal negotiations?

In 2012, Duval County elementary school teacher Christopher Bacca received a 40-year sentence for having sex with young male students. Michael Worrell who worked at three Duval County schools over his nine-year teaching career was sentenced to life behind bars for molesting two young girls between the ages of 9 and 13. In two other cases, the victims wouldn't cooperate with investigators. As a result two Westside high school teachers walked free.  As for the remaining six, they all took plea deals, and ended up facing lesser charges like child abuse or battery.

One of those men, who pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, was Paxon Middle School teacher Leonard Hoffman.

"I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. It's an awful, awful situation. Nobody should have to go through that and we should be able to trust the people who we give our children to -- 8 hours a day five days a week. That should be a given. There should be a lot of changes," said the mother of Hoffman's victim, that the I-TEAM is calling "Tiffany."

Hoffman was convicted of having sex with Tiffany's daughter. She says her 16-year-old had an ongoing sexual relationship with Hoffman after he honed in on her weaknesses, and convinced her that the feelings they had for each other were OK. Tiffany says her daughter's grades started dropping, her personality changed and it took her daughter months to admit the two were involved intimately.

"My daughter took off, she ran away. She ran away to go hang out with him during the day. I believe it was a school day and he took her out of the city to where his mother was in St. Augustine. They had a fun day, doing whatever they were doing, seeing the sites, you know. That was absolutely unacceptable," Tiffany said.

Police charged Hoffman with two counts of having sex with a minor, a charge that could have landed the teacher in prison for 15 years. But lawyers say, like so many other teacher sex cases, Tiffany's daughter wasn't strong enough emotionally to testify in court. Hoffman pleaded guilty to Adult Sex with a 16-year-old, and he was sentenced to just one year in jail.

"It was frustrating as a parent to sit there and talk with the DA and agree to less of a punishment. My hope was 15 years absolutely, but again, I wouldn't put my daughter through that," explained Tiffany. "I think that the moment he was arrested, my daughter was scared that she would be labeled in school, she was. She did not continue at that school. We barely got her to finish high school because it was such a traumatic thought for her."

While Hoffman only received a one-year sentence for having sex with a 16-year-old girl, he will be labeled a sexual offender for the rest of his life.

The I-TEAM turned to former sex crimes prosecutor Rick Alexander for his insight on why these specific crimes can be difficult.

"A lot of times the victim is still infatuated with their teacher, and so they don't want to betray them and they blame themselves, and they're like, 'look, this is my fault, you know, I can't let them get in trouble,'" explained Alexander.

He says without the victim's testimony, lawyers have a tough time building a case, especially when it comes to proving how many times the sexual acts occurred. Alexander says teenage victims typically want to avoid the public spectacle of going to trial to testify. He adds, when it comes to women who have sex with their male students, there's a double standard.

"I think that teachers in general get a break, but certainly women teachers who have sex with young men. That prejudice is really just coming off the top," Alexander said.

As examples, Atlantic Coast High School teacher Danielle Reed and St Johns County High School teacher Stacy Slamka both accepted plea deals and never served prison time for having sex with teenage boys. Clay County elementary school teacher Kimberly Brody served only one year in jail for having sex with a 16-year-old in 2013.  Alexander says prejudices do exist among judges, the jury and even among the young male victims themselves.

"One of the challenges that boys face is initially, no one thinks they are a victim, including themselves. And, based on the prejudices people have, they're like, 'Wow, you know I would be so lucky.' But the reality is not at all what the fantasy is," Alexander explained.

A convicted male sex offender, who was not a teacher, agreed to speak with the I-TEAM on the condition his identity was concealed. He spent more than 10 years in prison for molesting a child, and says he's angry that some teachers who have committed similar crimes as his, have received a lesser penalty.

"It pisses me off, it pisses me off a lot because here I am, you know, I got a 13 year sentence. I did 11 years and 15 days in prison and I'm still on probation -- 10 years’ probation -- and this November, I'll have 5 more years to do," he said. "I hurt a child, their family, you know, and I'm paying the price for it. But then when I see some of these teachers, what about them? What about us, what we have to go through?"

"It should not be happening," said Tiffany. "It shouldn't be a revolving door for these people.  It should, absolutely, be making some changes in the system."

Tiffany wants lawmakers to consider a minimum mandatory sentence for teachers convicted of having sex with their students. She's also asking that students be given the ability to testify on video, rather than in person in court. The I-TEAM took her questions to State Attorney Angela Corey.

"The psychological or emotional attachment that forms, I think can cause our lawyers a different set of problems," Corey explained.

Corey says current Florida law does allow victims of sex crimes to enter videotaped testimony, but the victim has to be under the age of 16.

Prosecutor Alan Mizrahi, the Director of Homicide Major Crimes, explains further, that under the law -- if a teenager is old enough to drive -- they are old enough to consent to sex.

"So, a 12-year-old -- up to the age of 16, 15 and under -- is not able to consent to any type of sex. A 16 year old is able to consent to sexual contact except with those over the age of 23. So, 24 and above, and she cannot consent to that. It's a peculiar law, but it's well founded," Mizrahi explained.

As for this Tiffany's idea of minimum mandatory sentence for teachers convicted of having sex with their student, Corey says it's a viable idea.

"We have minimum mandatories for a lot of things, so it is feasible. But, whether or not the legislature can pass that or will pass that remains to be seen," Corey said.

The I-TEAM has learned Florida lawmakers are not currently considering a minimum mandatory for teachers having sex with their students, however, that could change if they follow Oklahoma's lead where a state senator is pushing for a 10-year mandatory sentence for convicted teachers.

Meantime, Corey says plea deals do not happen more often in teacher sex cases versus other crimes, but former sex crimes prosecutor Rick Alexander disagrees with that. Corey points out the issue of meeting the burden of proof and each case comes with different challenges. She says her office also holds male and female teachers to the same standards. However, experts say female victims often suffer more physical and psychological trauma compared to teenage boys.


About the Authors:

Tarik anchors the 4, 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. weekday newscasts and reports with the I-TEAM.