Florida Teacher Resigns After Sheriff Releases Her Sexual Video Chats With Prison Inmate
A Florida teacher has resigned after a sheriff released video footage showing her engrossed in an erotic conversation with her prison inmate boyfriend. The video was released as a way to warn the public that they abide by the jail's code of conduct while interacting with prisoners, as all the calls are under scrutiny.
Dona Barber, 52, a veteran teacher employed with the Franklin County School District video, called Lawrence Ray, an inmate at the county jail, from her office during school hours, New York Post reported.
The case came to light after Franklin County Sheriff A.J. Smith assigned a staffer to monitor the calls of inmates and he eventually posted the now-deleted video on Facebook to outline his concerns about the inappropriate communications between inmates and their visitors.
Screengrabs from the video published by New York Post show split-screen images of Barber and Ray, with Barber undressing at some point during the graphic conversation.
The images showed Barber in her office and Ray in a cafeteria with other inmates in the background when they were having the inappropriate video chat, according to US Time Today.
Smith revealed in the Facebook post that Barber had a history of engaging in x-rated conversations with prisoner Ray during her work hours, urging parents to watch whom they are trusting the kids with.
"I think parents have a right to know who is teaching their children," Smith told the New York Post. "That's why I released this."
Barber's employers initiated a probe ever since the release of the video and she resigned when threatened with termination. However, a local attorney concluded there were no grounds to charge Barber.
The sheriff said he took down the video after it received 25,000 views because of inappropriate messages left in the comments section. "Jail is not a resort," Smith added. "People in jail need to abide by the rules, you have to have order. Otherwise, you can have chaos and it can be dangerous for the staff that has to deal with the inmates."
Smith said prison video calls have become more common in recent days as they required less staffing than in-person visits.
© Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.