MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 While teaching a teenage girl how to play the piano at Miami Senior High School, Rudolph Infante allegedly lifted his shirt to show her his tattoo of two hearts.<\/p>\n
Infante, 53, then allegedly told his Miami Senior High School student that one heart represented her and the other represented him, according to a police report. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf only I was 30 years younger,\u201d Infante told the student on another occasion, according to the police arrest report. <\/p>\n
Infante was on house arrest with total lockdown on Monday after police officers arrested him on Friday, and he appeared in bond court on Saturday, according to Miami-Dade County court records. <\/p>\n
Miami-Dade Schools Police assigned a detective the \u201cstudent-teacher relationship\u201d investigation on Feb. 23 and the student described how Infante\u2019s behavior escalated from August to October. <\/p>\n
According to the arrest report, Infante\u2019s behavior included holding \u201cher hand longer than usual,\u201d giving her \u201cside hugs that made her feel uncomfortable,\u201d and taking her phone to type a note with his personal hone number that said, \u201cCall Rudy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Infante would allegedly say, \u201cI have been thinking about you\u201d and \u201cI can\u2019t wait to be with you\u201d and he would \u201ctouch her shoulder, back, or arm\u201d and \u201cplaced his hand on her buttocks.\u201d <\/p>\n
The teen told the detective Infante described the boundary crossing as \u201cdone out of love and endearment,\u201d and \u201cshe stopped asking because she felt he would not listen to her,\u201d according to police. <\/p>\n
\u201cInfante grabbed her by the waist while seated in a chair and pulled her toward him, causing her to sit sideways on his lap. While she was seated on his lap, [he] rubbed her back … leaned forward and kissed her on the chest area between her breasts … she felt afraid,\u201d the teen said, according to the arrest report. <\/p>\n
The teacher\u2019s case was assigned to the Miami-Dade County State Attorney\u2019s Sexual Crimes and Child Abuse unit, according to court records. <\/p>\n
Infante faced five charges: Four counts of battery and one count of offenses against students by authority figures. His bond was $14,000. A judge ordered him to stay away from the teenage girl. <\/p>\n
Miami-Dade County Public Schools released a statement on Sunday, reporting that the school district had initiated employment termination proceedings against Infante.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis type of behavior will not be tolerated as it runs contrary to the professional conduct we expect from all employees,\u201d a M-DCPS spokesperson wrote without providing specifics. <\/p>\n
Miami Southridge Senior High School, at 19355 SW 114 Ave., in the South Miami Heights area, had listed Infante on the faculty directory<\/a> as a Fine Arts teacher. <\/p>\n Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Zachary James was set to preside over the case. <\/p>\n Local 10 News Assignment Editors Sofia Mendez and Mariana Ortiz contributed to this report. <\/p>\n Watch bond court hearing<\/p>\n Teacher Rudolph Infante appears in Miami-Dade court <\/p>\n