HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) - A Hollywood middle school teacher was arrested on Wednesday, accused of inappropriate behavior with a student.
Felicia Sharonda Smith, 39, was charged with molestation of a child between the ages of 12 and 16 and lewd and lascivious conduct.
During her court appearance on Thursday afternoon, a judge set her bond at $150,000.
“I realize the charges are serious,” said the judge.
Smith paid the bond and is expected to be released soon.
If Smith pays her bond, she must be fitted with a GPS ankle monitor. She was also ordered to not have any contact with the victim or any minors and cannot step foot on any school’s campus in the tri-county area.
According to Hollywood Police, officers were made aware of inappropriate contact between a teacher and a student at Driftwood Middle School, located at 2751 N. 70th Terrace.
During their investigation, detectives questioned Smith, and she was arrested. She admitted to police that at the beginning of the year, she and a student developed a maternal relationship. Smith also admitted that she kissed the student on school grounds.
“The teacher did admit to having a maternal relationship with the student since the beginning of the year and then did admit that there was kissing involved after that,” said Hollywood Police spokesperson Deanna Bettineschi.
The victim, police said, told officers that she was forced to inappropriately touch Smith.
The victim’s family began asking questions after the young victim came home with marks on their body.
“They realized that something just wasn’t right and continued pushing for answers,” said Bettineschi.
Police said the child claimed the marks on the their body were from injuries with a football at school.
“But through further investigation, they were able to identify that it was from kissing and it did look like a hickey on the student,” said Bettineschi.
The teen later admitted that she had been skipping her sixth period class since February and spent that time in Smith’s classroom and her classroom closet during Smith’s planning period.
Smith was a Language Arts teacher at the school.
According to the arrest report, the teen saw Smith “as someone who was loyal and faithful and thought of her as a mother figure.”
The victim told detectives that Smith told her to “not tell anyone because she could lose her job if people found out.”
On her Facebook page, she posted pictures that were taken inside the school and wrote that some of the pictures were taken by her students.
A parent told 7News many students at the school are upset because they liked Smith and trusted her.
“Seeing my daughter in tears over something that she doesn’t fully understand,” said a concerned parent. “She is emotionally not OK and I’m not OK cause she’s not OK.”
The parent, who chose to remain anonymous, said her daughter is devastated as Smith was one of her favorite teachers.
“I don’t think she’s ever been hurt like this before,” said the concerned parent. “She’s more upset that her teacher is gone. She doesn’t really understand the depth behind it.
The Broward County Schools Board released the following statement:
The safety of our students is always our top priority. Broward County Public Schools is fully cooperating with the Hollywood Police Department in its investigation. The teacher has been reassigned away from the school and students pending the outcome of the case.
BCPS
Hollywood Police are working closely with BCPS as they continue to investigate.
According to the school district, Smith worked as a substitute teacher from mid-2019 to 2022. In July 2022, she became a permanent teacher at Driftwood Middle.
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