A Homestead, Florida high school student accused a school security guard of groping her chest this past week, news sources report. The security guard, who reports did not identify by name, has been suspended pending an internal investigation but has not been arrested on criminal charges. The victim was not identified in reports either. It is unclear whether she will file a suit against the defendant based on her allegations.
Reports say the 11th grade student attends the Homestead Senior High School in Miami-Dade County, where she says the alleged abuse occurred. The defendant works on the school's security staff and is listed as a hall monitor in reports. A spokesperson with the Miami-Dade Public Schools commented on the case, saying, "There will be consequences if the allegations are found to be substantiated, up to and including termination."
According to the victim's mother, Cynthia Bacetty, the defendant has been harassing her daughter verbally for the past year by making inappropriate remarks. However, Bacetty says the abuse escalated this past week when the guard allegedly groped the teen's chest. "My daughter came into the school, and this man grabbed her breast, passed his hand over her entire chest," Bacetty said.
Bacetty says she is upset, not just by the incident, but by the lethargy of the school's response. "This has been an ordeal for me and my family because this has been going on with the same person since February of last year," she said. The employee has since been suspended as the school district investigates the allegations.
The victim also commented on the time it took to investigation the case, saying, "[The defendant] physically touched me. He sexually molested me, and no one is doing anything about it." She went on to say "I don't even want to go to the school anymore because this has been going for so long, and now it's all over the place, everyone knows,"
Other students at the school expressed skepticism about the allegations and say the defendant is a polite employee. "He says hello to students, and he's friendly to parents," one student said. Another student's parent was not so understanding, saying, "I'm very concerned. If I had a daughter in here, and you told me that now, I'd go in there and get her out."
In other news, Alvaro Francisco of Immokalee, Florida was arrested Saturday after he allegedly called 911 numerous times to ask for a ride to Mexico, reports say. Francisco, 26, was booked into police custody on a misdemeanor charge of misusing the 911 emergency systems. His bail was set at $2,000. It is unclear whether he was able to post bail, nor is it known whether he has hired an attorney.