MIRAMAR, Fla. – A former Broward public high school employee confessed to using social media to send a picture of his penis and a video of himself masturbating to a teenage student, Miramar police said Wednesday.
Stefon Smith, of Lauderhill, was a teacher assistant at Whispering Pines School, 3609 S. Douglas Rd., in Miramar. The public school is for students with behavioral, intellectual and emotional disabilities.
Recommended Videos
A 16-year-old student reported Smith, 24, was sexually harassing her in and after school.
"Smith knowingly and intentionally touched the victim in a lewd manner and also against her will ... Smith solicited the victim to engage in acts that constitute sexual battery," Miramar police officer Maxime Herard said in a police report.
The 11th grade student said that he touched her breast and legs in the class room and smacked her butt near a school bathroom. After school, Smith used Instagram, a multimedia sharing service, and Kik, a free messaging app, to ask her for sex, police said.
The police investigation revealed Smith's pursuit of the girl began in September. Broward school officials said they removed Smith from the classroom and notified police, as soon as they became aware of the complaint.
"Smith was a probationary employee," Broward school spokesperson Nadine Drew said in an e-mail adding that it was important to recognize that he was not a teacher, but a teacher assistant.
Smith, who moved to Lauderhill from New York, is no longer working at the school. He was arrested Dec. 1, resigned from his job a day later and is out on a $2,000 bond. He is facing one misdemeanor count of simple battery touch or strike, and two third-degree felony counts of electronic transmission harmful to a minor.
Smith faces up to 11 years in prison, and is scheduled to appear in Broward County court Jan. 28.