A Florida school teacher was arrested Friday (May 29) after he tried to kiss a teenage girl forcibly.

According to Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the accused, identified as 30-year-old Michael Stephan Strasser, met the 19-year-old girl on a dating app. On May 13, the victim agreed to go to the accused’s home to smoke marijuana.

The two met at his home and, while smoking marijuana, the accused put his hand on the girl’s thigh. The victim felt uncomfortable and declined his advances. In an attempt to kiss the victim, Strasser grabbed her by the jaw and pulled her toward him. The girl, who was against it, managed to push him away. She left the apartment immediately.

Police said the accused was a teacher at Key West High School and that the victim did not study at the school.

The accused was taken into custody on May 29 and charged with battery. He remained in jail as of Friday. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

In a similar incident earlier this month, a school teacher in Idaho was arrested for sexually assaulting a student. The victim, who was 17 years old when the molestation took place, told the investigators that 51-year-old Patrick Smith used to flirt with his students and would always take everything they said as sexual. One day, the accused grabbed the victim and pulled her into his lap. Smith told her that she was arousing him and that “he had to deal with it all day.”

A few days later, he, allegedly, kissed the victim. He also groped her underneath her clothes. The same evening, he messaged the teen, asking if she was okay. The victim replied, saying that she didn’t like him touching her. The following day, the accused hugged the girl and apologized at school. However, after the girl turned 18, the accused started hugging her often.

Following an investigation, the teacher, who taught at Technical Careers High School, was arrested and charged with felony sexual battery on a minor. The accused was also placed on paid administrative leave.

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