A high school teacher in South Florida found himself behind bars after telling a student he wanted to “make out” with her, police say.
NBC affiliate WPTV-TV reports police arrested 56-year-old Israel Gonzalez, a teacher and Navy JROTC instructor at Royal Palm Beach Community High School after the comments were made inside a classroom on campus.
According to police, the 18-year-old victim told police Gonzalez made the comments to her last Tuesday, asking if she could keep a secret before asking if she would like to make out with him.
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“You are a young and intelligent teenager, and you speak eloquently, and present yourself as a lady, not an 18-year-old," an arrest report said. The victim told Gonzalez she did not want to make out with him and left the room.
After reporting the incident to police, the victim and Gonzalez had a controlled phone call in which she expressed concerns about making out leading to sex.
"If she is willing to do that, not the sex stuff, but the making out, that would be her decision, but if you and I start making out, we enjoy, we enjoy,” Gonzalez told the teen on the call.
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Gonzalez was arrested Thursday and charged with soliciting or engaging in lewd conduct with a student. He has since bonded out of jail.
The School District of Palm Beach County has not commented on the case to the station.
