After the incident was publicized, a cellphone video was posted on social media and then taken down, and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.
Advertisement
Scott is being held in a juvenile intake facility, according to jail records.
Family for Scott could not be reached.
“The incident this week should not be a reflection on our combined efforts, administration, students, and teachers, to keep our building and students secure and safe”, said South Fort Myers High School Principal Melissa Layner.
WINK News reported that five students were suspended over the incident, and 11 others are awaiting disciplinary action.
The discipline came on the heels of the discovery that multiple male students engaged in sexual activity with a female student in a restroom.
Parents of the girl and the police initially decided not to press any criminal charges.
The high school’s athletic director, Don Payne, also would not comment. “So we might not have a football team this year”.
The ages of the boys who allegedly had sex with the 15-year-old girl at the high school were still unclear, and Chandler said the district won’t disclose how many students were disciplined.
The head of a local advocacy group stated publicly that the girl was a victim of sex trafficking and was 13 years old when she was first sold for sex. “What’s upsetting about this is this behavior is not uncommon for human trafficking victims”.
She had been a student at South Fort Myers High School for two weeks when the incident occurred, Estrem said.
When the girl was finally rescued and returned to her family, she was placed in several treatment programs and recently finished one that lasted for eight months.
The age of consent in Florida is 18, though 16- and 17-year-olds may legally have sex with partners aged 16-24.
Deputies also confiscated a cell phone during the investigation.
“They are on the front lines, dealing with the aftermath”, said Christy Ivie, founder of Christy’s Cause. More than 400 cases were reported in 2015, nearly three-fourths involved sex trafficking and nearly a third of the sex cases involved minors.
“She was not equipped to make a stable, rational decision in that situation”, said Estrem. “We don’t have enough safe houses for boys”. “It was such an issue that we started a human trafficking task force to educate law enforcement and the community and prosecutors”.
“Students begin missing class or are exhausted in school”, Ivie said. “They are traveling and trafficking these girls from Southwest Florida to Atlanta to up to New York City to Boston and back”, said Waid. “Things just don’t add up”. The school did not disclose the ages of the boys involved.
Parents are concerned and are questioning as to how the events even played out on the South Fort Myers High School campus.
Advertisement
“They are adolescents who have made a serious mistake”.
