Middle school teacher David Michael Stokes of North Lauderdale, Florida was arrested on September 22 after he allegedly intoxicated two 16-year-old students at a Pompano Beach park.
Stokes, 45, is being charged with two misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. It is unclear if he has acquired the services of a lawyer.
According to the arrest report, Stokes was found with the students by deputies from Broward Sheriff’s Office after 2 a.m. Friday in a closed park near the Pompano Beach pier. The deputies wrote that both teens appeared “visibly intoxicated with slurred speech” and were unsteady on their feet in the report. The report did not specify the gender of the students.
The students reportedly told the deputies that Stokes picked them up at their homes without their parents knowledge and gave them alcohol. One of them had also taken two dozen cough drops, provided by Stokes, to enhance the effect of the alcohol, the report said.
The deputies arrested Stokes for trespassing in the closed park and later charged him with two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Stokes is a history teacher at Ramblewood Middle School in Coral Springs. A spokesperson for the Broward County School District told the press that Stokes has been removed from his teaching position and reassigned.
Another incident of misconduct involving a teacher and a student was reported in Pembroke Pines last week. Drama teacher Sylvers Robinson of Miami was arrested on September 18 for allegedly sending porn and sexual texts to a 14-year-old student.
Robinson, 29, faces three charges, including transmission of material that is harmful to minors, directing or promoting sexual performance by a child, and using a computer to solicit or lure a child to engage in sexual conduct. The press did not name an attorney for Robinson.
According to the arrest report, Robinson is a teacher at Harvard International Academy in Pembroke Pines. He allegedly took a special interest in a male student and would stand close to him and make comments about his clothing.
“He liked me more than the other kids,” the student told Local 10 News. ‘He treated me different. He would be mean to the other kids, but he would treat me like I’m a king.”
Robinson’s inappropriate communications with the student reportedly began on September 5 when he took the teen’s cellphone and dialed his own phone number. Later that day, he allegedly began sending the teen text messages calling him “cute” and asking if he was a virgin. He also purportedly sent the boy a pornographic image on Instagram.
The teen informed his mother about Robinson’s texts and she called the police. A detective posing as the teen continued texting Robinson using the teen’s phone. Robinson sent more inappropriate texts as well as a picture of himself in his underwear to the detective, the report said.
After his arrest, Robinson told police that the text messages were taken out of context. He said he was trying to be a “big brother” to the teen and did not believe he did anything wrong. He also accused the student of targeting him because of his sexual orientation.