A female paraprofessional in a Lee County school has been arrested on charges of sexual battery on a male student.
Fort Myers police reported that the department was alerted to the alleged assault on Sunday.
Police said it was reported that Lauren Angelica King, 32, was actively having a sexual relationship with a student.
Family members of the 13-year-old male student said that the school involved is the Royal Palm Exceptional School in Fort Myers. King is listed at the school as "instructional support," which is usually a paraprofessional who works in a classroom under an assigned certified or licensed teacher.
Police reported that the victim said that King had requested his phone number and began texting sexual messages, which included nude photographs and videos of her performing sexual acts on herself.
Attorney Faudlin Pierre, a spokesman for the victim's family, issued a statement Thursday afternoon: "The School District of Lee County failed systemically. Schools should be sanctuaries where children feel safe, yet this district allowed a child predator to infiltrate our most vulnerable spaces. This predator targeted our client, and it was only due to his vigilant parents that she was stopped. The school district bears responsibility for allowing such a dangerous individual near our children. The arrest of Ms. King serves as a grave indictment against the district, and it must own up to its critical failure in safeguarding our students.”
Lee schools released the following statement Thursday evening: "The School District of Lee County does not tolerate the kind of alleged behavior. The employee involved was immediately removed from the school when the allegations were reported pending the outcome of an investigation."
A message posted by the victim's father on social media earlier in the week alleged King forced the teen to have sex with her.
"I'm hurt, angry, mad, so many emotions at once," the father, whom WGCU is not identifying due to the nature of the alleged crime, said in the posting. "I'm heartbroken, because as a father I'm here to provide and protect but I was unable to protect him from this monster."
The message included a screen shot of the cash app King allegedly used to send the victim money and showing $365 already sent.
The father later posted his thanks on social media: "I just want to thank everybody that reached out and helped me get justice for my son in this situation. I really appreciate each and everyone of you. JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED"
The victim told police that King had requested the victim’s phone number and began texting sexual messages, over 4,000 in one month, including nude photographs and videos of her performing sexual acts on herself.
Detectives reviewed all of the evidence including the text messages exchanged between King and the victim and determined that there was probable cause to charge King with Lewd or Lascivious Battery and Lewd or Lascivious Molestation.
On Wednesday, FMPD was granted an arrest warrant for Lauren King and she was arrested at her home by the U.S. Marshals Regional Task Force and the Fort Myers Police Department Thursday. She remains in the Lee County Jail.
FMPD encouraged anyone with information or may be a victim of King, to contact FMPD at 239-321-7700.
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