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Florida teacher caught stealing from student lockers www.privateofficer.com
A veteran North Marion High School gym teacher was arrested after police said he was caught on tape stealing from his students.
Detectives said Steven Simmons was seen in a cell phone video going into several lockers while the locker room was unoccupied and the students were in the gym.
Simmons was arrested 20 minutes after students showed the video to a school resource officer on Thursday. He was out of jail that night on a $2,000 bond.
When a school resource officer questioned the teacher about the thefts, he said he never went into the locker room. Police said when he was shown the video, his story changed.
Simmons admitted that since the beginning of the school year, he has taken about $400 from lockers.
The school said students had complained for years that someone was stealing from their lockers. A student put his cell phone in an empty locker in the boys’ locker room to catch the thief.
Simmons, a 25-year veteran physical education teacher for the district, resigned Friday morning.
The cell phone containing the video was placed into evidence. After it’s processed, it will be returned to the student.
Videotaping is against school policy and not allowed in any locker room due to student privacy issues, so district officials said they’ll have to decide if any disciplinary actions will be taken against the student.
