http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/schools/two-teachers-to-be-fired-for-sexual-encounters-309632.htmlThe Palm Beach County School Board is set Wednesday to fire two teachers at H.L. Watkins Middle School for having sex on campus with band teacher turned molestation suspect Heath Miller — including one who has told police that Miller raped her.
It's the latest fallout from last year's eruption of criminal charges against Miller, who was arrested last spring on multiple charges of sexually abusing students at the Palm Beach Gardens school. Investigators said at the time that Miller, who is married, also had been having sex with at least two fellow teachers plus a third woman.
One of those teachers accused Miller of rape, telling investigators that their sexual encounters had occurred without her consent and that she was intimidated by him, according to reports released last spring.
But investigators ruled the rape allegations unfounded because no physical evidence existed and the teacher hadn't filed any complaints against Miller, district spokesman Nat Harrington said today . The teacher told school police that Miller hadn't used force or threatened her, and that she hadn't tried to resist, according to district documents.
The teacher's attorney, Matt Haynes of West Palm Beach, said she plans to "vigorously" appeal her termination unless the school board "comes to its senses."
"Look at the facts," Haynes said. "This person has raped a number of people."
Asked during an interview if she planned to attend Wednesday's school board meeting, the teacher said, "I don't know."
The Palm Beach Post is withholding the teacher's name.
The school board is also set to vote Wednesday on firing a second teacher, Amber Schmeider, who according to district records admitted to investigators that she twice had sex with Miller on campus. Schmeider said the encounters were consensual and that no students were present, according to the documents.
Both teachers are accused of offenses including unprofessional conduct.
Schmeider did not return a phone call seeking comment today . Attempts to reach Miller's attorney were unsuccessful.
Police began an investigation in April into alleged misconduct by Miller, who had been voted Watkins Middle's most popular teacher in 2007. He was eventually arrested on more than a dozen charges, including molestation, sexual assault and tampering with evidence and witnesses.
At the time, police reports said Miller had been having sex in the band room with at least one teacher as early as October 2007. Police also spoke to the teacher who accused Miller of raping her. Meanwhile, a third woman told investigators that she and Miller had had sex with his wife's permission.
The school terminated Miller's contract in April. Miller, 35, is still behind bars awaiting trial.
The molestation case wasn't the first time Miller's name had been in the news. In February 2009, Miller shot and killed a 22-year-old masked man who he said had burst into his bedroom in Wellington home.
"I was just protecting my wife and my family," he said after the shooting.
Before teaching music, Miller worked as a life skills instructor at South Bay Correctional Facility and served as vice president for his father at Miller Mortuary in Belle Glade.
While the district doesn't normally respond to disciplinary actions by the board, Harrington said the cases against both teachers took longer than usual because they were complicated.
"It required time to schedule all the people to be interviewed," Harrington said.
The board plans to recommend suspension of pay for both Schmeider and the second teacher effective Thursday and employment termination effective March 18.
Topic: Palm Beach County schools set to fire teachers for campus sex; one says abuse su (Read 488 times)