MACCLENNY, Fla. – A Baker County High School teacher who resigned amid an investigation into allegations he had sex with a student who is a minor was arrested Friday.
Adam Brunner, who was also a coach at the school, faces three charges of "unlawful sexual activity with certain minors" and one charge of sexual performance by a child, according to a news release from the Baker County Sheriff's Office.
Brunner, 27, is well-known in the community as a coach for several sports at the school, and Baker County residents said after his arrest Friday that he deserves the maximum penalty if he's found guilty.
"I look at it like this is someone that students have to look up to and they honor," said Joevita Staley, a Baker County resident. "And that is not honorable at all. That is a child you are there to teach, a child -- not teach them inappropriate things, and that was very wrong. "
"If it was consensual or if it was not consensual, it is still not right," said Baker County resident Tammy Mullner. "It's not appropriate."
Deputies said they were notified Tuesday by the Baker County School District of a possible inappropriate relationship involving Brunner and a student. The district said it got a tip from another student about the relationship.
Deputies said they were interviewing possible witnesses and conducting a thorough investigation into the matter.
"We've had her mother, her family and her here, and she gave us the information that we needed from her," Sheriff Joey Dobson said earlier this week.
Brunner was interviewed at the Sheriff's Office on Friday, and deputies "determined that Adam Brunner had a sexual relationship with the student," the release said.
School officials said the student was not in Brunner's class.
The Florida Department of Education has been notified, as well as the Department of Children and Families.