Ayanna Davis, a Florida substitute high school teacher, is facing sexual battery charges after she was allegedly caught on video having a sexual encounter with a student.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s news release, Davis, a 20-year-old former Lakeland High School substitute teacher, admitted to having “unprotected sex” with a student who was 16-years-old or younger. Davis said her sexual escapades with the student happened on more than one occasion—twice at her home in the Lakeland area and twice at the student’s home.
Polk County authorities obtained a recording of a Snapchat video that captured the disgraced teacher and the young student performing sexual acts. School resource officers were alerted about the incident by another student who claimed that the startling news began to surface after the video was shown to a group of high school football players. Sheriff Grady Judd said the investigation is still ongoing.
“This is a clear violation of sexual battery laws. She was in a position of influence over the victim, and she took advantage of that for her own twisted pleasure,” she added in her statement, according to the news release.
Davis has since been arrested and charged with 2 counts of sexual battery by a custodian and with an offense against a student. The troubled teacher first appeared in court on Dec. 11, where her bond was set to $60,000. Her arraignment hearing is scheduled for Jan. 10, 2022.
Davis was hired by a staffing company called Kelly Education Services as an employee. She did not work directly with the Polk County Public School (PCPS) system. The company told PEOPLE that Davis had “successfully” passed their required background check and screening measures before she was hired. Kelly Education Services have since terminated Davis and she will no longer be allowed to work on any PCPS school site for the foreseeable future.
“We expect substitute teachers to uphold the same high standards of conduct and professionalism as our full-time educators,” said Superintendent Frederick Heid, per the news release. “The charges against this person are disgraceful and a complete violation of the trust that teachers build with their students. There is no room in our schools for this type of conduct.”