DORAL, Fla. – A South Florida middle school teacher has been arrested after being accused of sexually assaulting one of his students.
According to an arrest report obtained by Local 10 News reporter Roy Ramos, the victim told her father what had happened to her and he notified police.
The teacher who was arrested is 36-year-old Daniel Fernandez. He faces one count of lewd and lascivious battery on a minor.
He was taken into custody by Miami-Dade police on Friday after investigators said he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old student at Renaissance Charter Middle School while he was a teacher there.
Fernandez went before a Miami-Dade bond court judge on Saturday, which is where details of the alleged disturbing encounters with the eighth-grade student were laid out.
According to the arrest report, the victim said that during the 2020 school year, on multiple occasions, Fernandez would kiss her on the lips and fondle her over her clothes.
On one occasion, she said, he physically violated her in a classroom storage closet, touching her underneath her clothing.
According to his arrest report, Fernandez confessed to the accusations against him.
He has since bonded out of the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center after posting a $7,500 bond.
He was ordered not to have any contact with the victim and stay at least 500 feet away from Renaissance Charter Middle School.
Parent Karen Rogers told Local 10 News she learned of the arrest, and was even more upset when she heard Fernandez allegedly asked her daughter, who is a seventh-grade student at the school, a question she said was inappropriate.
She said Fernandez asked her daughter, “If there was anyone she was interested in.”
The school released a statement to Local 10 News, which read:
“Our highest priority is the safety and security of our students, and we will not tolerate anyone treating students in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable. It is our policy that if ever we receive an allegation of inappropriate behavior, we take swift and immediate action to remove the individual from campus, notify and engage law enforcement, and conduct a thorough investigation. All employees must pass a thorough background check prior to working with us. We encourage students and parents to always inform us as quickly as possible if there is ever a concern that needs to be addressed and we will take all appropriate actions to ensure our students are safe. Because this is currently under investigation, we are not at liberty to discuss details any further.”
Miami-Dade police said they are trying to find out if there are any additional victims.
Anyone who believes they were victimized by Fernandez is asked to call 911 or the Miami-Dade Police Department’s Special Victim’s Bureau at 305-715-3300.