Florida security guard at juvenile detention facility accused of having sex with boy at facility
Guard accused of relationship with teen boy
A former security guard at a juvenile detention facility in Florida allegedly had a sexual relationship with a boy who was part of the program. Rachelle Edwards, 32, faces four counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and two counts of lewd and lascivious touching of a minor. The incident reportedly happened inside a cell at the Kissimmee Youth Academy.
KISSIMMEE, Fla. - A female security guard at a juvenile detention facility is accused of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a teenage boy, according to the Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez.
Rachelle Edwards, 32, was arrested on four counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and two counts of lewd and lascivious touching of a minor.
Deputies said the sexual misconduct reportedly happened in a cell at the Kissimmee Youth Academy, a juvenile detention facility part of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.
The 17-year-old boy told his mother about the relationship, who then contacted the facility. The Osceola County Sheriff's Office then launched an investigation.
At first, both Edwards and the teenager denied the relationship. Lopez said the teen eventually decided to come forward to talk about it.
"He said three weeks after juvenile arrived at the center, he got a letter from the guard asking his age. They started writing letters back and forth, and at one point, the juvenile was moved from one cell to another," Lopez said during a news conference. "The cell he was moved to did not have a camera, and that's where all the sexual misconduct, to our knowledge, at this point, took place."
Detectives interviewed Edwards who confessed to having sex with the teenager, Sheriff Lopez said.
An official with the Kissimmee Youth Academy told FOX 35 that Edwards was suspended on March 1 after learning of the allegations. She was eventually fired after the agency concluded that she broke internal rules.