A Broward County school teacher has been arrested and accused of caressing the legs of at least two girls in his first-grade class in Lauderhill.
Damian Jude Francis, 44, is charged with lewd and lascivious conduct by a person over 18, records show.
He was arrested Monday following an investigation of allegations made by a 6-year-old student who told her mother Mr. Francis made her feel "uncomfortable," police said.
According to the arrest report, Francis would touch the girl's ankle and slide his hand up and down her leg if she were wearing a skirt or dress. It would happen out of sight when a female student went behind his desk at the back of the classroom seeking help with classwork.
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Police were called to Endeavor Elementary School at 2700 Northwest 56th Avenue around 3:30 p.m. on March 2 to investigate the child's claim.
She told her mother it had happened several times and that she didn't want to wear dresses or skirts to school anymore. Her mother wanted the girl transferred out of Francis' class, the report stated.
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Assistant Principal Marissa Dukes told police Francis had been suspended following a similar accusation from another young girl six months earlier. He was reinstated in January after about two months while the investigation was continuing in that case, school officials said.
Dukes said Francis declined to talk about the case and sought help from the teacher's union at the time.
Detectives interviewed the 6-year-old girl in this latest case and she said, "he was doing something weird to me," and, "he was touching my legs," and, "I told my mom and she was very, very mad," the report stated.
When Francis was questioned March 24, police said he denied it at first but later admitted, "I shouldn't have been hugging or touching them."
He remained in the Broward County Jail Tuesday on a $65,000 bond, records showed.
Parents and guardians at the school said Tuesday that they are furious.
"I'm in shock," said one parent, Valerie. “That is unacceptable. They are innocent babies."
