STARKE, FL — Not one, but two school employees in a Florida district are accused of sex crimes against children.
Bradford County School District employees Autumn Brooke Rodgers, and Lainie Kay Rodgers, both 24-years-old are facing charges.
Autumn Rodgers turned herself in on Wednesday.
Lainie Rodgers was arrested and charged with transmission of harmful material to a minor by electronic device, and authority figure soliciting or engaging in lewd conduct with a student.
The victim in Autumn Rodgers’ case is a 16-year-old girl, but is not the same victim of Lainie Rodgers, according to Action News Jax.
The following is a news release from the Bradford County Sheriff’s office regarding allegations against Lainie Kay Rodgers:
On September 16th, 2021, the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office received information from a student at Bradford High School regarding inappropriate text messages she had observed on her friend’s phone. The texts were being sent from a Bradford School District employee/coach, to a high school student that contained sexually explicit language.
Detectives first interviewed the victim while her parents were present. She denied any inappropriate behavior occurred between she and the suspect, stating they were just friends. Detectives then proceeded to the suspect’s residence to interview her. The suspect was cooperative with the detectives and admitted to sending sexually explicit text messages to the victim’s phone. Upon a secondary interview with the victim, in the presence of her mother, she admitted to having a more involved relationship with the suspect then she had previously stated.
Detectives presented their case to the State Attorney’s Office and a warrant was signed by Judge J. Williams, who issued a $75,000.00 bond. The suspect turned herself in at the Bradford County Jail on Monday September 20th , 2021 at approximately 9:30pm and posted bond. She is currently out of jail pending her first court appearance that is to be determined.
The two women are not related, deputies said, but are friends and co-workers.
“The cases are not connected but have some ironic similarities,” the Sheriff’s Office told the news station.
