FORT MYERS, Fla. — A Lee County judge says there's indication more victims may be involved with a Fort Myers teacher charged with child sex crimes.
32-year-old Lauren King, who worked as an Instruction Support Employee at Royal Palm Exceptional Center in Fort Myers, is facing two counts of lewd and lascivious behavior.
Friday, Fox 4 Investigates spoke with the family of the 12-year-old victim.
“It’s hurtful that I s end my child to school and these people that are put into position of authority, that I trust to watch over my children, they return them back to me like this,” said the boy’s father, who asked not to be identified.
Fort Myers Police say King and the student exchanged more than 4,000 text messages in a month.
Those messages, according to police, included nude photos of King and videos of herself performing a sex act.
“I know (my son) feels like he let us down,” said the boy’s father. “But he really doesn’t understand the severity of what’s going on here.”
The Lee County School District said Friday King was no longer employed. She had previously been put on administrative leave, pending the results of an investigation.
“The district does not tolerate this kind of behavior,” the district said in a statement soon after the arrest
Faudlin Pierre, an attorney representing the boy’s family, says the school district should have done more to protect the boy.
“You not going to know the seriousness, or the gravity, or the impact that this is going to have on our client for years to come,” Pierre said. “Right now, he’s embarrassed that it was revealed. But that doesn’t uncover the emotional trauma he’s going to have to go through.”
A judge said King is not allowed to be in contact with anyone under 18-years-old and can only leave her home for court or attorney appointments. She's being held on a $350,000 bond.
