ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH, Fla. — A St. Johns County school teacher is accused of touching himself inappropriately in front of young girls at the beach.
The St. Augustine Beach Police Department arrested 29-year-old Christopher Ford, a Bartram Trail High School teacher, on Saturday.
According to his arrest report, he approached girls swimming in the water at the beach and intentionally placed himself near the children. His behavior drew the attention of parents in the area.
Investigators said he touched himself inappropriately in front of the girls.
Parents allegedly saw Ford go up to a second group of young girls and place himself close enough so waves pushed a child into him.
“You don’t ever want to hear that,” said Kai Tapaoan, a parent.
The report said Ford denied anything inappropriate occurred.
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He is the third Bartram Trail High School employee in the last three years to be arrested.
Just last month, Action News Jax reported an English teacher at the school was arrested for trying to pay someone he thought was a prostitute $100 in exchange for sex.
Then in 2022, Tylar Reagan, a former coach at the school, was arrested for sexually assaulting students, which court records show he was found guilty of in 2023.
Tapaoan said all those arrests are concerning.
“It’s disheartening,” said Tapaoan. “As a parent, it makes me very skeptical about the system we are about to put our child in.”
He hopes Ford will be removed from the classroom.
“I think it needs to happen,” said Tapaoan. “They don’t need to be around kids.”
Action News Jax got a copy of the letter the St. Johns County Schools Superintendent sent to Ford.
It said he’s on paid leave during the investigation and faces termination.
During the next school board meeting on Sep. 9th, the superintendent intends to recommend to the board that they fire Ford.
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