Miami

Brownsville Middle School P.E. Teacher Wendell Nibbs Accused of Sexual Battery of Students

A physical education teacher at Brownsville Middle School in Miami-Dade resigned after he was arrested for allegedly sexually battering students.

Wendell Alfredo Nibbs, 51, is facing two counts of sexual battery on a child 12 years of age or older but less than 18 by an adult while in familial/custodial authority, according to an arrest warrant.

Nibbs was booked into jail Thursday, where he was being held without bond, records showed.

According to the warrant, a Miami-Dade School Board Police detective began an investigation into Nibbs in May or 2015 amid allegations he had engaged in improper sexual activity with various female students at the school at 4899 Northwest 24th Avenue.

One alleged victim told another student she was 15 years old when she began having sex with Nibbs in his classroom during school hours, the warrant said. The two also exchanged messages with naked photos of each other through the "KIK" messenger, the warrant said.

The teen said she had low self-esteem and was bullied while attending the school and believed that's why Nibbs took advantage of her, the warrant said.

"She said the defendant was her physical education teacher, and he provided her with love and attention and seemed to care about the fact that she was being bullied," the warrant said.

The teen later transferred to another school but said Nibbs contacted her and told her not to speak about their sexual encounters because it could ruin his career, the warrant said.

A second girl claimed that in February 2014, when she was 14 years old, Nibbs had asked to see her privates, the warrant said. Nibbs denied the allegation to a detective, the warrant said.

When the detective learned other students had made similar complaints, the detective asked Nibbs about them. "Well where there's smoke, there's fire," Nibbs responded, according to the warrant.

The teen said that when she was 15 and in 8th grade, Nibbs lured her into his private office in his classroom and tried to force her to have sex with him as she kicked and screamed and yelled at him to stop, the warrant said. She claimed he threatened her with bodily harm if she told school officials or the police about what happened, the warrant said.

“Miami-Dade County Public Schools will not tolerate actions by employees that endanger or violate the safety of children. Our highest priority is to protect their physical and emotional well-being," the school said in a statement. "The allegations against the employee are unconscionable and do not comport with the standard of excellence and integrity of our workforce. He is no longer an M-DCPS employee."

According to the warrant, police found four former students who reported inappropriate sexual behavior by Nibbs from 2004 to 2013. The report said nothing happened and Nibbs was able to continue to teach.

A spokesperson for the school district said he didn't have an answer for why nothing was done and referred NBC 6 to Miami-Dade Schools Police.

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