The SRO who accused Brookside Middle School officials of covering up sexual misconduct has been fired by the Sarasota School District.

The Sarasota County School District police officer who accused school district officials of covering up sexual misconduct at Brookside Middle School has been fired, according to school district officials.

Former School Resource Officer Kimberly Whyley’s termination was effective on Wednesday.

Whyley had accused leaders at Brookside of disregarding students who came to them complaining that Brookside teacher Maxwell Guss had groped their breasts, made sexual comments and regularly isolated them for one-on-one conversations.

Shortly after Whyley submitted a report accusing Brookside’s leaders of not responding appropriately, Whyley became the subject of an investigation for her role in breaking up a fight on Brookside’s campus.

School officials accused her of using excessive force while breaking up the fight. The investigation ultimately concluded that Whyley lied during questioning about how physical she got in stopping a fight between two students at the school. Whyley said investigators accused her of battering the child when she restrained him during a fight — an accusation she denies.

"It’s really obvious what is happening here," Whyley said. "Obviously I’ve been terminated because of the Maxwell Guss situation. Even a first-grader can see that it is retaliation."

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The termination means Whyley is unlikely to get a job as a police officer again, said Sara Blackwell, the attorney representing her. Blackwell also represented administrative assistant Cheraina Bonner in the sexual harassment case that ultimately led to Sarasota County Schools Superintendent Todd Bowden’s exit from the district.

Officers are expected to testify under oath, and if an officer had been fired for lying it would undermine their credibility in any future testimony, Blackwell said.

In an incident report that Whyley filed Sept. 6, she detailed the allegations that Guss had groped students and that administrators had failed to respond.

The student said the "teacher approached her from behind and attempted to gain her attention by placing his open hand, palm down, on her right breast," the report stated. "Student 1 stated that she was shocked and just stared at the teacher."

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Whyley wrote that the students said they told the school’s assistant principal about their fears two days earlier, hoping to get switched out of that teacher’s class, but no action had been taken.

Sarasota Police arrested Maxwell Guss on Nov. 18, charging him with two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct by a person over 18, based on the accusations of Brookside female students.

Guss remains employed by the district, while his charges are pending. He was transferred to an administrative role at the district’s offices.

School Board attorney Art Hardy couldn’t comment on this case specifically, but he said teachers facing criminal charges are rarely dismissed before their case goes to trial because a school investigation can interfere with a criminal investigation.

"Typically the police and state attorney don’t like us interviewing witnesses and potentially having people testifying before their criminal prosecution happens," Hardy said.

Whyley was still within her six-month probationary period, school district spokeswoman Kelsey Whealy said, meaning she could be terminated for any reason. Whealy said there was no connection between Whyley’s accusations and her subsequent firing.

"If you are looking for expanded comment on the rationale for why she was terminated, there is nothing additional," Whealy said. "That is the entirety of the rationale. It is within the six-month probationary period."

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