Educators Teaching Again After Wrongful Arrest

JUPITER — Police have arrested an Independence Middle School teacher, alleging he had sex with a teenager in his classroom two years agone, post-obit a lengthy history of inappropriate behavior with students at the Jupiter schoolhouse, according to an arrest report.

Daniel Heath Norment, 41, sometimes took students into his classroom cupboard to "counsel them," and as motorcoach of the girls' basketball team 2 years ago, he immune the students to change their clothes inside his classroom after school hours, the police force 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 form after school to visit or assist him with administrative paperwork."

Police force said the school reprimanded Norment several times and removed him from the coaching position, but he continued instruction until early on March, when school district police received data that a 16-year-old girl "was coerced into having sexual practice" while visiting Norment at the schoolhouse virtually ii years agone, according to the report.

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Norment, an employee at Independence for about six years, was reassigned to a position abroad from the school subsequently 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 constabulary charged him with one count of unlawful sex activity with a pocket-sized and one count of sexual activity law-breaking against students by authority figures, both 2nd-degree felonies.

He remained at the Palm Beach Canton Jail with his bail set at $100,000 Wed morning. Court records indicate that the Palm Beach County Public Defender'due south Office is representing Norment. As a policy, it does non annotate on open up 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 nigh nearly ii years ago.

I of Norment'due south onetime students – at present in college – felt compelled to speak out after the incident began to weigh on her mind, co-ordinate to the police study.

She attended the schoolhouse from 6th to 8th class, and Norment would tell the girl she was "different and mature for her age," police said, citing an interview with the erstwhile student.

The teacher gave her "good grades for doing nil" and the student "felt Norment was merely existence nice to her," the police written report continues.

They later on exchanged phone numbers, and later the student moved on to loftier schoolhouse, she would sometimes visit Norment in his middle school classroom to hang out, talk and assist with paperwork or cleaning, the student told police force.

With time, Norment allegedly "progressed in his amore" and told the educatee he was "falling in dear." And then, when the student was in tenth or 11th form, police force said, Norment took her by the hand, led her to a classroom closet and coerced the teenager into having sex, co-ordinate 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 fourth dimension that Norment was beingness "disciplined for bear ethics" at Independence, administrators at the daughter'southward high schoolhouse asked about "Norment and her relationship."

"Victim #i told me that she was embarrassed and told the staff nothing had ever occurred," the police report states. "She was instructed to non visit Norment at the school later on or during school hours."

Co-ordinate to the police written report, the educatee never spoke with Norment once again, and during the last school year, every bit he faced continued inquiries into his behavior with students, the teacher was told to terminate having youth visitors at Independence.

He was so moved to a position away from students after constabulary launched their investigation this twelvemonth.

"If you, or your student, have data that you experience would be important to share with investigators, delight call School District Police Dispatch at (561) 434-8700," the Independence Eye School principal said in her message to families on Tuesday.

Giuseppe Sabella is an pedagogy reporter at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can attain him at gsabella@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism and subscribe today.

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Source: https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/crime/2022/05/11/police-arrest-independence-middle-school-teacher-alleging-sexual-relationship-student/9730414002/

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