Elementary School Teacher Allegedly Molested 3 Underage Students In Classroom, Charged

An elementary school teacher in Naples, Florida, was arrested Friday after three minors accused him of sexually molesting them.

Hector Manley, 30, a second-grade teacher at Parkside Elementary School in Naples, allegedly made sexual contact with at least three underage female students during the 2017-2018 school year. However, authorities believe there might be more victims involved in the case.

He was charged with three counts of lewd and lascivious molestation on a victim under 12. He was released from Collier County jail on $60,000 bond Saturday.

Two of the victims told a youth relations deputy about the alleged abuse recently. They claimed that Manley touched them inappropriately inside his classroom. The Collier County Sheriff's Office launched an investigation into Manley’s sexual misconduct and that was when they came across the third victim.

“Upon learning of the allegations brought forward by a student, CCPS [Collier County Public Schools] immediately removed Hector Manley from the school. Mr. Manley is under review for further District action. We are fully cooperating with the Collier County Sheriff's Office on this matter,” the district said in a statement Saturday, Fox Carolina reported.

According to Manley’s employee personnel file, obtained by Fox4, he began working for the Parkside school three years ago. Prior to his current post, he was a Spanish tutor and taught Pre-K. He had cleared the national sex offender and all pre-employment background checks, including a section on dating violence and abuse, before he was employed at the institution.

CCPS held a meeting Tuesday regarding Manley’s termination from the school. It was not immediately known what the outcome was of the meeting.

The Children’s Advocacy Center in Collier County said incidents of child molestation were becoming increasingly common in the present times. Out of 1,100 children, the center saw annually, 30 percent were victims of sexual abuse.

“It’s important for adults to respond appropriately and to be responsible and to make sure they believe that child and get help for the child,” said Jackie Stephens, executive officer of the center.

He added there were some telltale signs that parents could look for in their children to make sure they were not growing up in an unhealthy environment. “They may have a change in grades, they may lose or gain weight, they might have anxiety and depression that wasn’t there before, so you’re looking at those changes in behavior for the child,” said Stephens.

Manley was scheduled to appear in court on March 25.

Local media reported over the weekend that Heather Winfield, 38, an ex-Alpena Public Schools special education teacher, who was accused of having sex with an 11-year-old student over a 100 times in several hotel rooms, was set to face trial. Before that, she had to undergo a three-day preliminary examination.

The long list of charges against Winfield included two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a child younger than 13 years old and individual counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct during the commission of a felony, third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a child aged 13 to 15 years old, second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a child younger than 13 years old, accosting a minor for immoral purposes, and using a computer to commit a crime.