FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A Lauderhill teacher, previously arrested last year for allegedly inappropriately touching a student, has been arrested again after another victim came forward.
Damian Francis, a former teacher at Endeavour Primary Learning Center, appeared before a judge Wednesday. The 44-year-old faces a second count of lewd and lascivious behavior on a minor.
In October, he was arrested for allegedly inappropriately touching one of his first-grade students, and now he has been arrested a second time in relation to another inappropriate touching case.
“Conditions of no victim contact, and that’s a victim with the initials H.G. and no contact wit minors,” said Assistant State Attorney Eric Linder during the bond hearing.
The family had come forward before, but no charges were filed because the victim and her mother moved to New Jersey.
After his October arrest, the family decided to contact the police. Detectives in New Jersey were able to question the girl and record her statement, and the case was reopened.
“The age of the alleged victim, she’s 6 years old at the at the time of the incident,” said Linder during an October hearing. “The admissions that Mr. Francis made to law enforcement, and I would note that it’s also extremely aggravating that another female student made similar allegations against Mr. Francis several months prior to this incident.”
That prior incident, authorities said, happened in September 2021
The 6-year-old victim said Francis would ask her to go to his desk in the back of the classroom. Once at his desk, according to the report, the victim “had on a skirt and Francis started touching her,” going under her shirt and touching her belly, “touching her on her legs and buttocks.”
The report further states Francis started “touching her ‘everywhere’ under her clothes, touching her groin, and back area before touching her genital area with his fingers.
After Francis’ initial arrest in October, parents of Endeavour students reacted to the news.
“Honestly, I don’t know what I would do. I would freak out,” said Emily Entiene, “because I would think that teacher would be able to do their job, to teach children and not abuse them.”
“They need to know who they’re hiring at these schools. They’re just giving anybody a job nowadays,” said another parent. “They don’t even know who they have around these kids.”
Francis was taken to Broward County Jail where prosecutors and his attorney negotiated a deal that would allow him to be released from jail without paying bond, since he had a $65,000 bond from his previous arrest. He will have to be fitted with an ankle monitor and not have any contact with minors.
Francis admitted to hugging the victims but when asked why had no valid reason for those actions.
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