Photo Courtesy of Polk County Sheriff's Office
On Dec.10, a 20-year-old Florida woman was arrested by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit for allegedly sexually assaulting a male student.
According to a sheriff’s office statement, Ayanna Davis told detectives that she worked as a substitute teacher at Lakeland High School and had unprotected sex at least four times with a student aged 16 years or younger. The two reportedly had sex twice at her house and twice at his. The young man also corroborated Ayanna’s story to Polk County detectives.
Sheriff Grady Judd responded to Ayanna’s arrest, saying, “This is a clear violation of sexual battery laws. She was in a position of influence over the victim, and she took advantage of that for her own twisted pleasure.”
The district’s superintendent also weighed in on the egregious act.
“We expect substitute teachers to uphold the same high standards of conduct and professionalism as our full-time educators,” Polk County Superintendent Frederick Heid said. “The charges against this person are disgraceful and a complete violation of the trust that teachers build with their students. There is no room in our schools for this type of conduct.”
On December 3, another Lakeland High School student tipped off the school resource officers of a Snapchat video of Ayanna and the male student having sex. The student claimed that the explicit footage had been shared with some players from Lakeland High School’s football team. Polk County Sheriff’s Office became involved because Ayanna stayed outside of municipal jurisdiction.
The 20-year-old woman faces two counts of sexual battery by a custodian and one count of an offense against students by an authoritative figure. Lakeland Police Department also served Ayanna a warrant that charged her with two counts of sexual battery.
The former substitute teacher was employed by a staffing agency– Kelly Education Services.
Ayanna already had her first appearance in court on December 11, 2021. She was held on a $60,000 bond. Her next court date is scheduled for January 10.