A Florida middle school drama teacher was arrested on Monday after allegedly having sex on multiple occasions with a former student in her car over the past two months.
According to the Miami Herald, Brittiny Lopez-Murray, 31, was booked into a Miami-Dade jail on Monday evening on multiple felonies, including lewd and lascivious battery, molestation and engaging in a sexual act with a child. The Miami-Dade school district said Monday night that she has been a teacher for four years "without prior disciplinary history."
Lopez-Murray and the Student Had Sex in Parking Lot of Mall, Supermarket
Lopez-Murray, who was married in 2016, started the sexual relationship with the teenager in August, police said. According to a Hialeah police report, the student — who is now a student at a high school in Hialeah — used to be Lopez-Murray's student.
The teenager told detectives that Lopez-Murray sent him a text in August, "where she expressed her feelings toward" him. They later met for coffee, and that led to multiple sex acts in her car on multiple dates, including in the parking lot of a local mall and a supermarket. On several occasions, the sex acts happened after she picked him up from basketball practice, police said.
Student's Sister, Father Found Explicit Text Messages, Photos on His Phone
On Saturday, the teenager's sister became suspicious of her brother's behavior on his phone and when she managed to get his phone, she saw "explicit text messages and photos" exchanged between the teen and Lopez-Murray.
The boy's father later saw the phone and that the teacher had sent the boy photos of her "exposed breasts and vagina." In the text messages, the pair talked about "how much they enjoyed the sex with each other."
Miami Dade School District Issues Statement, Fires Lopez-Murray
The Miami-Dade school district, in a statement Monday night, said it was "saddened and disappointed over these serious allegations given that the District takes great measures to ensure our students are educated in safe learning environments.
"All employees receive training and are expected to abide by the District's Standards of Ethical Conduct policy. It is unfortunate that despite our efforts, the actions of some individuals run contrary to the behavior that is expected of them. As a result of this arrest, M-DCPS will begin the process of terminating her employment and prevent her from seeking future work with this District."
