Mandarin Middle School | Google
Published on May 15, 2024 at 3:53 pm
Free local news and info, in your inbox at 6 a.m. M-F. Sign up for the Jacksonville Today newsletter.
A Duval County school police officer was arrested on a battery charge after an incident at Mandarin Middle School, one of two staff members accused of misbehavior recently, according to district officials.
The arrest Tuesday of Officer Curtis Omarr Williams, 52, followed the termination of security guard Nathan D. Behar at the same school for inappropriate statements made to students, district officials said.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
Mandarin Middle Principal Julie Humphreys alerted parents Tuesday about the two employees, stating that while the news was disappointing, “I always want to be transparent and make sure you are informed.”
The incident involving Williams occurred Nov. 15, and he was removed from duty the next day, district officials said.
The parent of a student was at the school at 11:30 a.m. when the officer invited her into his office to “show her something,” an arrest report stated. Inside, the mother said, Williams hugged her, groped her and tried to kiss her, the report states.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
School district police interviewed Williams on Dec. 14. He said the mother joined him in his office so they could exchange telephone numbers because they were “casually flirting.” He said he never closed the door, and at no time did any physical touching occur, the report said.
In Behar’s case, a parent complained May 3 about inappropriate statements “of a sexual nature” that were made to students, the district said. The allegation also was reported to the state’s Department of Children and Families.
Williams was hired Sept. 19, 2022, and worked as a school safety officer at Mandarin Middle at the time of the incident. District officials did not immediately know whether he had worked in other schools.
Behar was hired March 28 and worked only at Mandarin Middle, district officials said.
The school district has experienced a string of misconduct complaints in recent months:
- An unidentified fourth grade teacher at San Jose Elementary School resigned Friday after she was accused of exposing herself on video in an empty classroom. First Coast News said it received several videos last week that appeared to show the teacher and contacted the district. The teacher was reassigned to other duties but resigned by Friday afternoon.
- The district has removed five teachers from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in the past year over issues of misconduct. Longtime music teacher Jeffrey Clayton was arrested in March 2023 and accused of inappropriately touching and texting a student. He pleaded guilty last month. Also, former alegebra teacher Christopher Allen-Black was arrested in February at a Disney resort after multiple people reported seeing him fondling himself in the window of a hotel room that faced a pool.
