Miami-Dade County

Miami-Dade substitute teacher arrested for lewd conduct with female students: Police

Jeffrey Vergara, 23, was charged with lewd and lascivious conduct on a child, offenses against students by an authority figure, and contributing to delinquency/dependency of a child

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Police on Thursday arrested a Miami-Dade substitute teacher who's accused of committing lewd acts with several female students.

Jeffrey Vergara, 23, was charged with lewd and lascivious conduct on a child, offenses against students by an authority figure, and contributing to delinquency/dependency of a child.

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Jeffrey Vergara booking photo
Miami-Dade Corrections
Jeffrey Vergara booking photo

During his court appearance on Friday, a judge ordered Vergara to not have any contact with the victims.

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According to police, on Dec. 19, an officer arrived at Kinloch Park Middle School, located at 4340 Northwest 3rd Street, after receiving reports of a substitute who made inappropriate comments to female students in his classroom.

In the arrest report, police were made aware that several female students on Nov. 1 reported to school officials that Vergara made sexually explicit comments to them and also solicited sexual favors from them.

During their investigation, officers were told that one of the victims gave her phone number to Vergara. He then texted the student inappropriate messages, asking to see her body.

The arrest report states that Vergara told the victim that he was showering and sent her a photo, which she did not open, and then erased the chat log and blocked Vergara's phone number.

During their investigation, detectives spoke with another victim who told them he was subbing for her regular teacher. The victim said that Vergara was friendly with the female students in her class and would compliment their bodies.

At one point, the victim said Vergara gave her his Snapchat account but he texted messaged her first. She said she kept the conversation short because she was uncomfortable.

In their conversations, the arrest report states, Vergara asked the victim if she would have intercourse with him. She said no, which prompted Vergara to screen-record the conversation and then he deleted the message thread and blocked the victim's number.

When the victim saw Vergara in her classroom, he put out his arms to initiate a hug, which the victim reluctantly gave him because she felt uncomfortable. The victim also said she saw Vergara vaping what she described as paraphernalia while in the classroom.

The first victim also told detectives that she saw him using a vaporizer and offered it to students in the class.

She also recalled an incident when Vergara helped a student hide her vaporizer during a random metal detection search that was performed in the classroom.

Vergara, the victim said, also texted her and told her was showering and sent her a picture.

He would continue this behavior with a third victim, the report said.

According to the third victim, Vergara would make sexual comments towards her and would ask her if she wanted to smoke with him. He also would ask her for her Snapchat account.

Eventually, the victim gave him her Snapchat and he would message her to meet him outside the school. After ignoring his messages, Vergara deleted the threat and blocked the victim.

Vergara would end up surrendering himself to police at the Miami-Dade Schools Police Headquarters.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools released a statement Friday on the arrest.

"Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is deeply troubled by the concerning allegations made against this individual. The Miami-Dade Schools Police Department conducted an investigation which led to his arrest. Upon receiving the allegation he was precluded from serving as a substitute teacher or in any other capacity in the District," the statement read. "M-DCPS goes to great lengths to provide a safe school environment for our students and employees."

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