JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A candidate for a seat on the Duval County School Board has withdrawn from the race after police investigated a report that he texted a 16-year-old charter school student asking her to send him a photo of her in a bikini.
Ricky King was formerly the girl's teacher at San Jose Prep on Sunbeam Road. The complaint, filed last November by the teen's mother, said the girl was aware that other classmates had sent pictures of themselves to King and had associated with him outside school.
The girl's mother, who asked not to be named, said she was outraged when she found out King was running for the school board.
“I didn’t find that out until probably a month and half ago, but obviously the last place he needs to be is anywhere where small children are,” the mother said. “But I was extremely pleased to see he dropped out of the race for school board.”
The mother said she was notified by the principal of her daughter's school that the texts came from King.
Police took a report, but ultimately determined a crime had not been committed, and the investigation was dropped.
News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said only an information report was filed with police and it doesn’t meet the threshold of a crime because while it may seem inappropriate to ask for a picture of a teen in a bikini, it’s not criminal.
“That’s not illegal, and it’s not a violation of the law, even if it’s a minor,” Smith said. “This teacher is not in trouble with the law. He didn’t break any laws because he didn’t try to coerce this individual into sexual activity or even ask her for any sexual favors.”
King's bio said he is executive director of the Heart Glu Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to increase academic performance in Duval County Public Schools.
King was running in District 7, which covers Mandarin and part of the Southside, a seat that will be open since current member Jason Fischer is running for a seat in the Florida Legislature.
“I’m completely mortified it even got to the point where he was able to run, and he also runs a foundation teaching children to read,” the mother said.
Five other candidates have signed up to run for the seat: Stacie Dern, Nick Harding, Lori Hershey, Greg Tison and Barbara Toscano.
News4Jax attempted to contact King in person and by phone for comment. He did not respond, but he did tell The Florida Times-Union that the allegations were not true.