opinion

Predators in the classroom: Rare, but not rare enough | Gil Smart

The news had to be crushing.

Devin Malloy, 34, an assistant football coach at Treasure Coast High School, was found last Sunday morning behind a Walgreens on Southwest Port St. Lucie Boulevard with an alleged self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Friends and family poured their hearts out in on- and offline tributes.

But their grief turned to fury after TCPalm reported Malloy had been under investigation by Port St. Lucie Police for allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct with a student.

MORE: Suicide death of Treasure Coast High School coach follows sex allegations

Malloy didn't do it, friends and family insisted. They might be right, though we'll never know for sure; with his death, police closed the investigation.

The story was all the more jarring because it was the second time in two weeks a Treasure Coast educator was accused of sexual misconduct involving a student. On March 30, Martin Middle School teacher Jeffrey Tomasulo was arrested on charges he engaged in sexual acts with a 13-year-old student in his classroom.

MORE: Stuart Middle School teacher accused of improper relationship had glowing reviews

Two instances hardly constitute a trend. Thankfully, teachers accused of improper relations with students is rare here.

But perhaps not as rare as you'd think.

At least 25 Treasure Coast teachers have been disciplined for sexual misconduct involving students since 2000, according to data from the Florida Department of Education and local media reports.

More: Former Port St. Lucie teacher gets 5½ years in prison for sexually assaulting student, 17

That figure doesn't include Malloy, or those deemed not guilty by the courts or state Department of Education.

Many have gone to jail, though some were never even arrested. Most had their teaching certificates permanently revoked.

The list includes two public school teachers and one private school teacher in Indian River County, and six public school teachers and one private school teacher in Martin County.

But most involve St. Lucie County public schools, where 15 teachers were disciplined over the span — 10 of them since 2014.

Nationwide, some reports suggest sexual misconduct cases against teachers are on the rise. But Jeffrey Shearer, chief executive officer of Tykes & Teens in Palm City, said there have always been teachers who target kids.

"People who victimize children go to where children are," said Shearer, who counsels troubled kids. "They know what they're doing: They're very charming, and often well-liked."

That, he said, is why some "are able to get away with it multiple times before being caught."

Repeat offenders

One such repeat offender was Dan Hussan, a former Fort Pierce Westwood High School English teacher sentenced in 2016 to life in prison for his crimes. Even at his sentencing hearing, he maintained his innocence — while the parent of one victim called him a pedophile and a "monster."

His eight victims ranged in age from 13 to 15.

Several other teachers disciplined by the state and/or jailed for similar offenses also targeted multiple students. But most cases here involve a single victim.

In addition to Tomasulo, other recent cases include:

Tiffany Geliga, a Port St. Lucie High School chemistry teacher who in February pleaded no contest to charges of sexual assault involving a 17-year-old student.

Freedom Whitfield, a Dan McCarty Middle School substitute and Fort Pierce Central High School assistant football coach arrested and charged with having sex with a 15-year-old student in 2017.

Daniel Morgan, a St. Lucie West Centennial history teacher who in January 2017 was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of receiving sexually explicit images of a child in a case involving a 17-year-old student.

Gary Anthony Burnette, a St. Lucie West Centennial band teacher who in November 2016 was sentenced to more than 7 years in prison for lewd and lascivious battery in a case involving a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student.

Of the 15 cases in St. Lucie County schools, six involved teachers at St. Lucie West Centennial High School.

Making it easier for predators?

Florida law requires anyone who suspects a child has been abused to call the Florida Abuse Hotline (800-962-2873) and report it.

But school districts have their own processes for investigating. Initially, many opt for an internal probe, rather than turning matters over to law enforcement.

That's sparked at least one civil lawsuit here.

In 2015, Stuart attorney Gloria Seidule filed suit against the St. Lucie County School District on behalf of one of Hussan's victims. In the suit, she alleged the district knew about Hussan long before he was arrested, but let him stay in the classroom — where he continued to victimize students.

District officials denied the "outrageous allegations." The suit was settled for an undisclosed sum.

"The allegation was the St. Lucie County School District made it easier" for sexual predators to find prey, Seidule said in an interview Tuesday. "When schools do not take immediate action, but instead sweep it under the rug, it's a green light to (offenders) to continue their predatory practices."

That, she argued in the lawsuit, explains why there are so many more cases of sexual misconduct in St. Lucie County schools than in other Treasure Coast districts.

Kerry Padrick, spokesperson for the St. Lucie County School District, said the sheer size of the district skews the numbers. The district has more than 5,000 employees, and its total enrollment of just under 40,000 means its twice the size of the districts in Martin and Indian River counties.

All allegations of improper conduct are "investigated fully and treated with the utmost seriousness," Padrick said.

'Passing the trash'

Elsewhere, that's not always the case. A lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade County last summer accuses the school board of failing to protect students from a teacher who, despite concerns about sexual improprieties, simply was moved from one district school to another until he was arrested.

This, Seidule said, is called "passing the trash."

The practice was the subject of a 2016 USA Today investigation, which concluded education officials put children in harm’s way by covering up evidence of abuse, keeping allegations secret and making it easy for abusive teachers to find jobs elsewhere.

MORE: USA Today investigation: Teachers who sexually abuse students still find classroom jobs

A recent study funded by the U.S. Department of Justice estimated one in 10 K-12 students — about 4.5 million children — will experience sexual abuse at the hands of a school employee at some point in their education.

While it's a felony for a teacher to engage in sex with a minor, it's not illegal if the student is over age 18 — though the educator still can lose his or her teaching certificate.

Earlier this year, a proposal in the state Legislature would have made it a second-degree felony for any school employee to have a romantic relationship with a student, regardless of age.

Another bill would have held districts accountable if they failed to report certain misconduct to law enforcement.

Neither bill passed.

But the trend, nationwide, is for schools to take tougher measures: stricter background checks, more training, an insistence upon timely reporting and more thorough investigations.

The problem is, said Tykes & Teens' Shearer, it's not possible to weed out every potential predator. But what can help is parents talking to their kids, being frank with them — and encouraging them to come forward with any concerns.

"If our kids are uncomfortable, they won't come to us," he said. "And we can't deny it by putting our heads in the sand."

Gil Smart is a TCPalm columnist and a member of the Editorial Board. His columns reflect his opinion. Readers may reach him at gil.smart@tcpalm.com, by phone at 772-223-4741 or via Twitter at @TCPalmGilSmart.