Accused Broward teacher fired

Police say 34-year-old inappropriately touched female student under 16

A Broward teacher who has been charged with molesting a middle school student was fired Tuesday — 15 months after his arrest.

Brandon Sutton, 34, on Oct. 27, 2018, was charged with one count of lewd and lascivious conduct. Lauderhill police say he inappropriately touched a female student younger than 16 at Parkway Middle, where he had taught social studies since 2015.

He’s pleaded not guilty, and his criminal case is still pending.

As a condition of his release from jail in November 2018, he was not allowed to have contact with any minor child that is not his biological child.

“Accordingly, Sutton has demonstrated an inability to discharge his required duty … and therefore, has failed to perform his duties as a teacher as he may not have contact with any of his minor students,” according to a district termination request, approved by the School Board without discussion Tuesday.

In March, the court allowed him to visit relatives in Orlando, but he was not allowed to go to Disney theme parks.

Why the district kept him until now is unclear. Chief Communications Officer Kathy Koch did not respond to that question despite five attempts on Friday, Monday and Tuesday. A statement from her office said Sutton had been reassigned to a job with no student contact.

Sutton couldn’t be reached by phone Tuesday, but his lawyer, Eric Schwartzreich, said the firing is unjust because his client hasn’t been convicted of any crime. Sutton plans to appeal the firing before an administrative law judge.

“I think due process should dictate,” Schwartzreich said. “Unfortunately, they made their decision. We look forward to our day in court.”

According to his 2018 arrest paperwork, the female student said Sutton “grabbed ·her lower back in a lewd manner. He repeatedly rubbed ·his foot on her leg during classes, winked at her and propositioned her to send him photographs of herself.”

“Brandon Sutton’s actions were unwanted and caused [the student] to be uncomfortable,” the report said, adding she asked friends not to leave her alone with him.

The report also describes him taking the student’s cell phone and putting his personal Snapchat on there so she could send him photos.

“She detailed him asking her to send him a picture of herself when she asked about raising one of her grades,” the arrest report said, “and how he moved her seat away from the students and right next to his desk where he would rub his foot up and down her leg.”

She gave police a photo of him doing this, the report said.

This is the second teacher in recent months fired in connection to molestation charges that are more than a year old.

Wyman Gresham, 50, was accused of molesting a 12-year-old girl and being inappropriate with two other girls, aged 13 and 16. He was removed from his job as a reading teacher at Lauderhill 6-12 on Dec. 13, 2017 and arrested on Feb. 22,

2018. He was fired Dec. 10,.

School district officials said in Gresham’s case, they had been waiting for his criminal case to end but decided to fire him because they couldn’t fill his teaching position until he was removed from the payroll.