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Suzanne Lea Owen, a Florida private school teacher who worked at Evangelical Christian School, has been jailed and lost her job after allegedly having sex with a student, with the two having met with each other off-campus and communicating through text messages.
What happened?
Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrested Owen this past Wednesday on a charge of custodial sexual battery on a victim between 12 and 18 years old, with the victim believed to be a male student. At this time, the victim’s exact age is unknown.
According to Fort Myers station WINK, Evangelical Christian School headmaster John Hunte said that the school was unaware of the incident at the time and will work with local authorities to help with the ongoing investigation; the following statement written by Hunte had been issued to parents:
“Dear ECS Family”
“Late this afternoon, a female Upper School teacher admitted to sexual misconduct with a student. The teacher has been terminated effective immediately.”
“We are deeply saddened and express our sincere sympathy to any and all victims of sexual assault. We have and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement during this investigation. ECS was not aware of the report of the incident until late today. I wanted you to be aware of this as I anticipate it to be reported by the news media.”
“Please be in prayer for all of the families involved.”
Who Is Suzanne Lea Owen?
Owen was 35 at the time of her arrest and she has since been terminated from her job at the school.
According to a police investigation, Owen had at least one sexual encounter with the male student, in which it was believed the two had met off-campus. Text messages between Owen and the student were also found by investigators.
Since her arrest, Owen has been charged with custodial sexual battery. She has been booked into the Lee County Jail and will make her first court appearance on Thursday afternoon.
