A teacher from Hialeah Senior High School has been charged after having what police called a romantic and sexual relationship with one of his students.
Misael Gonzalez, 55, of Plantation, was arrested Tuesday and will be terminated from his position as an English teacher at the school, Miami-Dade County Public School officials said in a statement.
According to an arrest report, the victim was a student in Gonzalez’s 10th-grade English class and was 15 years old when their relationship started.
The victim told police she would talk to Gonzalez about her issues with her father, the report said. Their conversations “escalated to romantic in nature,” and Gonzalez began touching the victim’s body, including her private parts, over her clothes.
Miami-Dade Corrections
Miami-Dade Corrections
Booking photo of Misael Gonzalez
“The victim stated how the defendant would tell her they were in a boyfriend and girlfriend (romantic) relationship and how they loved one another,” the report said.
Then, between September and February, Gonzalez and the victim had several sexual encounters in classrooms around campus.
The victim told police she and Gonzalez only talked in person and refrained from electronic communications. At one point, the victim took pictures with Gonzalez on her phone, and he instructed her to delete the pictures because “The ghosts of his past were coming back to haunt him,” the report said.
At some point, the victim and Gonzalez’s encounters moved off-campus, police said. In January, the two skipped school, spent the day at the beach, and Gonzalez took her back so she could make it in time for dismissal.
The report said the two skipped another day of school in February after her 16th birthday. They drove to a park, where the victim had sex for the first time.
Gonzalez faces several charges, including lewd and lascivious battery, child abuse, molestation and unlawful sexual activity with a minor, according to the arrest report.
“Miami-Dade County Public Schools is disturbed by the unsettling allegations made against this individual. Upon learning about this suspected behavior, Miami-Dade Schools Police immediately began their investigation and subsequently made an arrest,” the district said in a statement on Tuesday. “This type of behavior will not be tolerated as it runs contrary to the professional conduct we expect from all employees. The District has initiated employment termination proceedings and will ensure the individual is precluded from seeking future employment with the District.”