MIAMI (WSVN) - Two additional victims have come forward claiming their former gym teacher sexually assaulted them.
Wendell Nibbs is accused of sleeping with several students while he worked at Brownsville Middle School in Miami.
He faced additional sexual assault charges in bond court, Thursday morning, where he was ordered to be held without bond.
It was believed there was only one victim when the first charges were filed. Nibbs was arrested on Nov. 30, 2017 and charged with two counts of sexual battery on a child 12 years of age or older but less than 18.
Since the initial arrest, two additional alleged victims have come forward.
Nibbs worked at Brownsville Middle School as a physical education teacher where the alleged sexual assaults took place.
The victims’ attorneys said there is now a total of five former Brownsville students they are now representing, and there are likely more victims out there.
“We knew that there were going to be other victims out there. We didn’t anticipate it was this many, and it’s really sad to see that,” said attorney Pedro Echarte.
Attorney Aaron Karger said these cases date back at least five years.
“It spans over years, starting in around 2014 and ’15, forward to the present,” he said.
So far, the state has only taken three of the cases to trial. One has claimed that Nibbs is the father to her child.
“She believes that he is the father of her child, so there may be DNA evidence that links the defendant to this case as well,” said a prosecutor at Thursday’s bond hearing. “We don’t know that yet.”
The parents of the teen who first claimed assault by the gym teacher filed a lawsuit in January against the Miami-Dade School Board saying school leaders failed to protect their daughter after allegations were made against Nibbs before she came forward.
“They should have seen the patterns in these allegations,” said Echarte. “They should have seen the similarities, and they should have taken action.”
He was previously on house arrest, but police arrested him again on Wednesday and took him to jail.
Thursday afternoon, Miami-Dade School Board spokesperson Daisy Gonzalez-Diego issued a statement on the case. It reads, “The allegations against this former employee are clearly reprehensible. By working with witnesses of past investigations, Miami-Dade Schools Police detectives were able to locate unknown victims who had been previously afraid to come forward. Probable cause for an arrest was established with the assistance of the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office. We will continue to provide whatever assistance is necessary to ensure swift prosecution of the individual charged with these disturbing accusations.”
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.