A substitute teacher in South Florida is accused of performing oral sex on a teenage student, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office said Friday.
Vernell Hicks, 30, of Pompano Beach, was arrested at Pompano Beach Middle School, The Miami Herald reported. Hicks was charged with committing a sexual offense on a victim 12 to 15 years of age, lewd and lascivious behavior on a victim 12 to 16 and lewd and lascivious conduct by a person 18 or older, WPLG reported.
According to an arrest report, beginning in June 2017 Hicks began sending inappropriate text messages to a 14-year-old boy, the Herald reported. Then, he coordinated meetings where he could perform oral sex on the teen, according to the arrest report. The victim's mother contacted the Broward Sheriff's Office on Wednesday after she said she discovered inappropriate Facebook messages on her son's cellphone from Hicks, WPLG reported.
After his arrest, police said Hicks initially denied the allegations but later admitted to them, the television station reported.
Broward County Public Schools spokeswoman Nadine Drew said Hicks' employment with the district has been terminated, the Herald reported. He worked as a substitute teacher at Crystal Lake Middle School and Pompano Beach Middle since September 2015, Drew said.
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