Charges against a Miami-Dade high school teacher, who was accused of engaging in a sexual relationship with his student last year, were dropped. Miami-Dade Schools Police noted that John A. Ferguson Senior High School teacher, Aaron Aziz Hamid, 27, was accused of having sex with a 16-year-old female student, but the charges on him were dropped due to a lack of physical evidence.
Quoting a closeout memo obtained on Friday, Local 10 News stated the lack of physical evidence included the student's refusal to provide a sworn statement on the matter. Hamid was the victim's advanced placement history teacher last year when she was 16-years-old.
The teacher was arrested in November last year on charges of offenses against a student by an authority figure, unlawful sexual activity with a specified minor, and engaging in a sexual act with a familial child.
Online classes
According to police, Hamid was having sex with the unnamed female student for over a year. The duo got close during online classes and exchanged phone numbers. One of the victim's friends informed a school official that her friend's boyfriend was a teacher at the school.
The arrest report stated that the friend once spoke to Hamid from the victim's phone and even accompanied the duo in his classroom during lunchtime.
Police also said that Hamid asked the victim to delete any incriminating content about their relationship from her phone. He later turned himself in to the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department.
No physical evidence
The closeout memo stated that both, the teacher and the student refused to provide a sworn statement to prosecutors and there was a lack of physical or digital evidence. The state, therefore, did not believe it could be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Hamid was guilty.
Hamid was employed at the school for four years and had a clean record. His employment was terminated after the charges were filed last year and he was barred to seek future employment with the district.
