DORAL, Fla. – A science teacher in South Florida was arrested Friday after investigators said she professed her love for a 13-year-old student.
Andrea Jimenez, 47, was a teacher at Doral International Math and Science Academy, reports the Miami Herald. She is charged with counts of lewd and lascivious conduct on a child and using a computer for prohibited purposes.
An arrest report obtained by WPLG said Jimenez began sending text messages to the male student in May 2018, when he was 12 years old. The report said Jimenez regularly "lured" the sixth-grade child into her class after school, and on one occasion tried to kiss him.
Over the summer, Jimenez sent social media messages to the boy that were "aggressively romantic in an obsessive tone," investigators said. One message read, "I will go to hell for u. Die for u stop eating to feed u. My love for u is so real and huge !!!"
Jimenez continued texting the boy into the new school year when he was a student in her class, investigators said. She allegedly expressed her desire to engage with him in an intimate manner and urged him not to speak with girls his age.
Police said the boy's parents became suspicious when items they hadn't purchased began appearing around the home. They notified the school's principal, who then contacted police.
Jimenez was fired by the school on Wednesday and turned herself in to police on Friday.
Jimenez's attorney, Jude Faccidomo, said the allegations were first made on Wednesday, and that a proper investigation into the claims had not taken place before the arrest.
“We are aware of the seriousness of the allegations but we are also aware that the Doral Police Department did no investigation of any kind before making their determination," Faccidomo said. "We are very new to the case but feel confident that a true review of the facts and the law will show that the allegations as they stand are exaggerated and are not sustainable.”