CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – A friend of a Broward County public school teacher shielded him from cameras as he left jail Wednesday night after posting bond.
Jail records show Lem Anthony McKinney, 40, is facing a charge of authority figure solicit/engage in sexual conduct.
6 p.m. report:
According to a spokeswoman for the school district, McKinney is a social sciences teacher at J.P. Taravella High School in Coral Springs, but has been reassigned away from the school and students “pending the outcome of the case.”
An arrest report from the Coral Springs Police Department states that McKinney “initiated a relationship of romantic nature” with a student, “soliciting her for sexual/lewd conduct.”
Police said the victim provided them a statement on Feb. 12, saying since the beginning of the school year, McKinney would speak to her about intimate things, such as his romantic and sexual experiences.
She said he also made her feel comfortable to share personal information about her life and considered him to be “trustworthy,” according to the report.
Police said McKinney eventually requested to follow the victim on social media and sent her a direct message saying, “Now we can continue our convos lol.”
Another message sent after she responded read, “As long as these messages are not seen,” the report stated.
According to the report, McKinney reassured the victim that he deletes everything and wrote, “Remember this ain’t new to me.”
The two reportedly continued their conversation as follows:
“He tells the victim, ‘I have been very good lately but only so much I can take.’ The victim tells the defendant that she hopes things get better with him and his wife and the defendant replies, ‘me too but if not ....’ The victim replies, ‘No’ and the defendant asks, ‘why not tho?’ The victim tells him, ‘Because that’s bad,’ and he states, ‘Sometimes bad is good.’”
Arrest report prepared by Coral Springs Police Department
According to the arrest report, McKinney told the student that he cheats on his wife and asked if she would ever cheat.
Police said the victim told him, “Never,” at which time McKinney claimed that he is loyal “to a certain extent” and that “the right person and the right situation can persuade me at the right time.”
“The right person is your wife that’s it,” the student wrote back, according to the report.
According to the report, after the student was adamant that she was not interested in cheating, McKinney told her, “You’re missing out though.”
Police said the conversations continued between the two with McKinney complimenting the student, telling her she has “deep eyes that I can see my self (sic) getting lost in” and that her “lip gloss be popping.”
Police said the student eventually asked McKinney if he’d cheat on his wife with her and he said “I’m down.”
According to the report, McKinney tried to urge the student to come to his home and offered to “rub” her belly, telling her that his belly rubs are “serious.”
Police said he also told her he is a “pleaser” and described the kind of foreplay he likes.
According to the report, the victim ended communication with McKinney on Monday.
He was taken into custody the following day and provided a statement to police, which was redacted from the publicly released report.
The school district confirmed that McKinney has worked at J.P. Taravella since March 2022.
No one answered when Local 10 News knocked on the door at McKinney’s listed address.
Meanwhile, at Taravella High School, students and parents expressed shock over the allegations.
“He used to be my teacher. It’s crazy. Lip gloss is popping, that’s bad,” one student said.
Records show McKinney posted a $25,000 bond. The judge also ordered that he not have contact with the alleged victim in the case or any minors other than his own children.