A Miami teacher is facing serious charges amid allegations he molested a former student multiple times and had inappropriate contact with another former student from two separate schools.
Eric Bernard Givens, 29, was arrested Friday on seven counts of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child, seven counts of battery, and one count of offenses against students by authority figures, arrest reports said.
According to one report, a student earlier this month told a school counselor she was molested by her teacher, Givens, when she was in 5th grade at Cathedral of St. Mary's School in Miami in 2019.
Get South Florida local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters.
The girl said Givens would pull her back in the classroom after everyone left and that is when the alleged incidents happened, the report said.
She said Givens would pull her hair back and grab her wrist to the point that she would bruise, the report said.
The girl told investigators it happened "almost every day" and ended a few months before the school year ended, the report said.
Local
After he was taken into custody, Givens denied the allegations and said he didn't know the victim but gave inconsistent statements, at first saying he only taught 4th grade but then advising that he taught 5th grade as well, the report said.
The second alleged victim, a 10-year-old girl, is Givens' former 3rd grade student at Gibson Charter School in Miami.
She said she messaged Givens on March 3 about students not passing to 3rd grade, then said she started receiving messages from Givens that said "I wanna see you again," "Always wanted to date you," and "Oh wow I wanna see you bad," the report said.
Givens also sent her a photo showing himself wearing only boxer briefs, the report said.
After he was in custody, Givens told investigators he believed he was messaging the victim's mother, but there was a message where the victim identified herself "making it clear the defendant is messaging the victim," the report said.
Givens was arrested and booked into jail and during a court appearance, he was ordered held without bond. Attorney information wasn't available.
In a statement Monday, the Archdiocese of Miami said Givens was employed from August 2019 to March 2020, and had been fired due to an inappropriate text sent to a student.
"The police were notified, and the incident was investigated; in addition, counseling was offered to the student and her family," the statement read. "With this recent notification of Mr. Givens’ arrest the Archdiocese now learns of this second incident and is fully cooperating with the City of Miami police department. Continuing to follow the ADOM Safe Environment Policy, counseling is being offered although the victim is no longer a student at the Cathedral school."
Officials from Gibson Charter School said Givens no longer works there but declined to comment any further.
Rabbi Ari Leubitz, Scheck Hillel Community School’s Head of School, said Givens had been teaching there but was fired after his arrest.
"To my knowledge, this arrest continues to have no connection to Scheck Hillel Community School. We take thorough, appropriate measures, including investigations, if/when any individuals who have been on campus are suspected of not aligning with Scheck Hillel Community School’s core values," Leubitz said in a statement. "We will continue to speak with students and families who had contact or communicated with the teacher and will share any relevant findings with law enforcement as appropriate."
