A Florida teacher has been arrested after she allegedly romantically pursued a sixth-grade student at her school.
Andrea Jimenez, a 47-year-old teacher at the Doral International Math and Science Academy, is accused of making a number of inappropriate advances toward a then-12-year-old boy, WFTS reports.
The “courting” started back in May toward the end of the 2018 school year.
Jimenez started gifting the boy with a number of gifts, including clothes, books, and electronics. His parents found the presents “suspicious” coming from a teacher, police told the Miami Herald.
The 47-year-old often “lured” the boy to her classroom after hours and even tried to kiss him on the last day of school.
Her “aggressively romantic” actions continued to escalate over the summer, Newsweek reports.
Jimenez downloaded social media apps like Snapchat and Instagram in order to message the young student. In one instance, she wrote:
I will go to hell for u. Die for u stop eating to feed u. My love for u is so real and huge !!! I don’t mind facing the devil himself for u.
She also encouraged the child to ignore girls his own age and choose her, according to WFTS.
In private, Jimenez told other teachers at her school that she was acting inappropriately toward the student and worried about her job, but she didn’t cease her actions.
Shortly after, the boy’s mother discovered her messages and told the school.
The teacher was arrested Friday after turning herself in to authorities. She has been charged with lewd and lascivious assault on a child.
The school’s principal, Victoria Gomez, posted a statement to the school’s website. It read, in part:
Keeping your children safe is our number one priority. Our safety protocols and procedures allowed us to address this situation quickly and with little disruption to our students or their class time.
There are several warning signs that your child may be involved in an inappropriate relationship with a teacher.
These can include changes in behavior, staying late after school, and speaking to the teacher on social media.
The principal said that police are still investigating Jimenez’s case.