WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — WPTV is learning more about the circumstances involving a middle school teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a student.
Christopher Trey Withers, 32, a teacher at Watson B. Duncan Middle School in Palm Beach Gardens, was arrested Monday on 17 counts of lewd and lascivious behavior on a victim aged 12-16 and other sex offenses involving a student.
WATCH BELOW: Teacher accused of having sex with girl "10-15 times"
According to a probable cause affidavit, Palm Beach Gardens police began investigating the case on March 25 after being notified by police with the School District of Palm Beach County about an inappropriate sexual relationship between a teacher and student.
The arrest report said the victim, who is currently 17 years old, came to the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department last Tuesday and said Withers was previously her seventh-grade math teacher.
The girl told police that her father died when she was in the eighth grade, and Withers "took on the role of a mentor" during this difficult time in her life.
The two of them began to communicate on Snapchat, which included discussions about "the sexual nature of their relationship."
The report said that when the girl finished the eighth grade and was transitioning to high school, Withers reached out to the child's mother, explaining that he wanted to be a mentor for the victim.
The girl told police that Withers took her and her mother out to lunch, so he could explain that he wanted to be involved in the child's life.
The victim also said that when she was a freshman in high school, she started helping coach the Duncan Middle School girls' softball team. She told police that Withers did not have a seventh-period class at the end of the day, so she would spend time with him in his classroom before softball practice started.
The victim said Withers eventually began kissing her while they were in his classroom and the situation "became more and more sexual as time went on," the arrest report said.
The affidavit said their relationship escalated outside the school, with Withers picking her up in the middle of the night when she stayed at a friend's house. She said they drove to a nature park in Jupiter Farms, spending time in his vehicle engaging in sexual activity. Eventually, about a month later, she said Withers took her to his apartment, where they had intercourse.
"After that, the victim said she and Withers had sex on a consistent basis," the affidavit said.
The victim told police that the majority of sexual contact between her and Withers occurred when she was 14 to 15 years old, including on one occasion where Withers recorded a video on his cellphone of them having sex.
The affidavit said that on March 26, the victim came to the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department, where they conducted a "controlled phone call" to Withers with detectives present.
The report said that during this phone call, Withers discussed the sexual relationship that he had with the child, stating that "we had a beautiful relationship that I ruined" and he would "always love" her.
The affidavit said that after Withers was arrested on Monday, he admitted to police that he had a relationship with the girl when she attended Duncan Middle School, corroborating "all of the details that the victim provided to police." He told police that he and the girl had sex about "10-15 times."
Withers appeared in a Palm Beach County courtroom on Tuesday morning. Online jail records show he is being held on $260,000 bond.
Watson B. Duncan Middle School Principal Phillip D'Amico sent a statement to families and staff on Monday regarding the arrest, saying the School District takes these matters "very seriously" and that Withers won't be returning to campus.
"SHE HAS SAVED FUTURE VICTIMS"
WPTV reporter Kayla McDermott reached out to Cherie Benjoseph, the director of National Outreach and Education for the Center for Child Counseling, about this case.
She told us that children being groomed by authority figures are unfortunately common.
"They're looking for access and opportunity. They groom not only the victim, but their family often," Benjoseph said.
She commended the teen for speaking out against her alleged attacker.
"I honor the victim for coming forward as she did," Benjoseph said.
She explained that most victims do not voice their trauma until they are in their 50s.
"What she has done is she has saved future victims by coming forward," Benjoseph said.
Benjoseph also noted that there are certain signs people should watch for regarding potential predators.
She explained that if someone is providing too much attention to a child, special treatment, offering them rides/gifts or trying to be alone, those are "red flag behaviors, and they need to be seen as such."
Benjoseph said education is the main way to prevent further cases from happening and shared programs with her organization for parents and caretakers to sign up to continue to keep their kids as safe as possible.
The links for those programs can be found below:
