(Photo by krakenimages on Unsplash)
By Kate Anderson
Daily Caller News Foundation
A former teacher at two Miami-area Catholic elementary schools is facing 15 charges for child sex crimes and was ordered by a judge Monday to stay away from students, according to Local10.com, a Florida-based outlet.
Eric Bernard Givens, a former teacher at Theodore R. and Thelma A. Gibson Charter School and St. Mary’s Cathedral School, was arrested Friday on 15 criminal charges, including child molestation, battery and abuse of authority, according to Local10.com. During a hearing Monday, a judge ordered that Givens be held without bond and to avoid contact with any of the alleged victims.
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A spokesperson for the Gibson Charter School told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the school took “immediate action” after learning about the abuse.
“A former employee has been arrested following allegations of inappropriate communication with minors,” the spokesperson said. “Upon learning of a communication that was sent to a student, our administration took immediate action and reported it to law enforcement. The individual has not been on our campus in over a year. There is no greater priority than the safety of our campus and welfare of our students.”
Police cars are seen outside the Miami-Dade County courthouse in Miami, Florida on November 8, 2019. (Photo by Zak BENNETT / AFP) (Photo by ZAK BENNETT/AFP via Getty Images)
Givens reportedly molested a fifth grader at St. Mary’s in 2019, who claimed that the abuse happened “nearly every day” after class until a few months before the semester ended, according to NBC6 South Florida. The second victim, a 10-year-old, said that Givens messaged her multiple times saying, “I wanna see you again,” “Always wanted to date you” and “Oh wow I wanna see you bad,” before sending a picture of himself in his boxers.
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After his arrest, Givens reportedly claimed that he believed he had been messaging the 10-year-old’s mother but police found other messages indicating he knew he was talking to a minor, according to NBC6 South Florida.
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In a statement provided to the DCNF, the Archdiocese of Miami said that it was “fully cooperating with the City of Miami police department.”
“Mr. Givens was employed from August 2019 to March 2020, and following the Archdiocese of Miami’s Safe Environment policy, was terminated due to an inappropriate text sent to a student,” the statement read. “The police were notified, and the incident was investigated; in addition, counseling was offered to the student and her family. With this recent notification of Mr. Givens’ arrest the Archdiocese now learns of this second incident and is fully cooperating with the City of Miami police department. Continuing to follow the ADOM Safe Environment Policy, counseling is being offered although the victim is no longer a student at the Cathedral school.”
St. Mary’s Cathedral School and the prosecutor’s office did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment. Givens could not be reached for comment.
This story originally was published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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