TAVARES, Fla. – A Tavares High School teacher and track coach has been arrested after a student accused him of inappropriately touching her while she was in his classroom, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
The student spoke to deputies earlier this month after hearing that they were investigating accusations that Brian Wall, 29, was sending and receiving inappropriate photos to and from female students and student athletes, the arrest warrant said.
The victim told deputies that she was in Wall's classroom on Nov. 15 working to complete assignments that she had missed when Wall began walking in and out of the classroom, as if he were making sure no one else was in the area.
The girl offered to clean the whiteboard or the desks or sweep the floor so that her work could be graded in time to count toward her final grade. Wall declined her offers and instead told her that she could give him a hug for every completed worksheet, deputies said.
Wall hugged the girl several times, the warrant said.
Deputies also said Wall picked up the victim's cellphone, made comments about the way the girl looked in the pictures on her phone and offered to send the girl pictures of himself. The girl said she pretended not to hear his offer.
Deputies said Wall touched the girl's undergarments after he asked her to expose them.
Wall told the girl to take an elevator to a copy room and said he would meet her there, according to the warrant. The victim told deputies she went to the room because she felt like she had to since Wall was her teacher. She was worried she would fail his class if she didn't comply, the warrant said.
Deputies said Wall told the girl multiple times that she should leave "before anything else happens," so she did. Wall hugged her for an extended period of time before she left, deputies said.
A spokeswoman for the Lake County School District said Wall, a language arts teacher, was removed from the classroom on Jan. 9, a day after the school became aware of the accusations against him, and was ordered not to have contact with students.
Wall submitted his resignation on Jan. 3, citing personal reasons. His last day as a school district employee was Tuesday. Deputies began investigating allegations that Wall received inappropriate pictures from students on Dec. 9, the sheriff's office said.
Wall was arrested Wednesday on a simple battery charge. He has since bonded out of the Lake County Jail.