LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — A Clermont high school teacher has been arrested after authorities say he engaged in inappropriate behavior with students, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
- East Ridge High teacher accused of inappropriate behavior with students
- He's charged with battery for touching one of his students when she was 17
- More Lake County headlines
Jason Misner, 37, is facing several battery charges after one of his former students came forward and accused him of engaging in inappropriate behavior with her and touching her, said a Sheriff’s Office news release.
Deputies say the investigation began when former students of East Ridge High School, where Misner is a geometry and musical theatre teacher, contacted the school district about his alleged behavior.
When investigators interviewed former students of Misner, they said they witnessed him “grabbing the buttocks of students” and engaging in sexually explicit conversations with students, the release detailed.
The alleged victim in which Misner’s battery charges stem told detectives Misner was one of her teachers when she was 17 years old.
According to her, he would let her use his vehicle and then gave her singing lessons outside of school. She said Misner eventually asked her sexually explicit questions, and later he allegedly “became physical with her,” touching her underneath her clothes.
When investigators questioned Misner, he confirmed that he worked with the then-17-year-old student outside of school, and that he touched her because it was “necessary to regulate and monitor her breathing” while he conducted singing lessons.
Misner was arrested Friday by Lake County deputies.
Authorities say because of the alleged victim's age, the accusations don't fall under Florida Statutes as sex crimes.