Fort Lauderdale FL space instructor faces lewd & lascvious cost

A primary-grade instructor at a Lauderhill faculty has been charged with lewd and lascivious conduct with a pupil. The arrest report says detectives have been advised the instructor had simply returned to the classroom after the same allegation was investigated.

Lake Price Seashore resident Damian Francis, 44, was arrested Monday, seven months after a pupil’s criticism that Francis rubbed her legs when she wore a costume or skirt first summoned Lauderhill police to Endeavour Major Studying Middle, 2701 NW 56th St.

He stays in Broward County Essential Jail on $65,000 bond. On-line courtroom data don’t listing Francis’ legal professional but.

“The District is conscious of the arrest,” a Broward County Public Colleges e mail to the Miami Herald mentioned. “This particular person is being reassigned to a place away from the varsity and college students. We defer to the Lauderhill Police Division for any extra data.”

Francis has labored for the varsity district since Could 12, 2003. He was a substitute instructor at varied faculties for 2 years earlier than becoming a member of the school at Westwood Heights Elementary College in Fort Lauderdale as a first-grade instructor in 2005. Over 9 years there, Francis moved from instructing first grade to second grade in 2006; second grade to 3rd grade in 2007; and remained as a third-grade instructor till transferring to Endeavour in July 2014.

Two women’ said drawback with their instructor

The possible trigger affidavit says after the scholar advised Lauderhill police on March 2 that Francis had a behavior of rubbing her decrease legs and ankles when she stood behind his desk, which blocked the view of different college students, Lauderhill police assigned Detective Tarra Walker.

Walker wrote within the affidavit that she reached out to Broward Colleges Particular Investigative Unit Detective Thomas Honan as a result of they’d labored a case earlier involving comparable allegations about Francis. On-line courtroom data present no earlier fees had been filed in opposition to Francis.

The possible trigger affidavit says on March 14, then-assistant principal Marisa Dukes relayed to Walker what the scholar advised her: Francis had rubbed her legs twice when she got here to his desk for assist. After doing so, Francis would offer her with the suitable reply.

Dukes, the affidavit mentioned, claimed Francis didn’t give an announcement to her and referred to as for his union consultant. Dukes advised Walker that Francis had returned to his classroom in January after being eliminated for 2 or three months in the course of the investigation of the earlier allegation. Dukes additionally mentioned the 2 college students accusing Francis didn’t know one another.

“Dukes said that there’s an inner investigation occurring throughout the faculty by Broward County Colleges Particular Investigations Unit and that SIU is answerable for reassigning Francis throughout this investigation,” the possible trigger affidavit mentioned.

The affidavit additionally gave a partial transcript of Francis’ solutions throughout a March 24 interview on the Lauderhill police station. That transcript says Francis mentioned he hugged college students, that he “kinda touched” the world one of many women claimed he’d touched; that he touched the abdomen of one of many women; and mentioned “I shouldn’t have been hugging or touching them.”

Endeavour’s web site nonetheless listed Francis as a first-grade instructor as of Tuesday. However the web site reveals that the varsity 12 months started with a brand new assistant principal and principal at Endeavour.

This story was initially printed October 18, 2022 3:18 PM.