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Volusia County teacher arrested
New charges have been filed against Volusia County teacher Arin Hankerd. Hankerd was arrested in February and accused of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student.
5-24-2023 - New charges have been filed against Volusia County teacher Arin Hankerd. Hankerd was arrested in February and accused of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student.
The new charges come after another student reported also having a sexual relationship with Hankerd back in 2019.
Hankerd, 42, was back in court today for a pretrial detention hearing. The Judge decided to hold Hankerd in jail until his trial. She believes Hankerd could still pose a threat to vulnerable children.
"At this point we have another victim come forward who is also a minor at the time of the offense," said Judge Karen A. Foxman.
The former Volusia County teacher was already facing five felonies including two counts of molestation for a relationship he was having with a 15-year-old student at Atlantic High School. New allegations added another first-degree felony.
"It’s the states position that at this point the court has a pattern of behavior to consider," said a State Attorney representing District 7.
The new allegations stem from a former student of Hankerd’s while he was teaching at Mainland High School in 2019. The victim was just 17 at the time when she claimed Hankerd invited her to his home for a sexual encounter.
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"You have two different public high schools in this community. In this county. You’ve got two different female student victims that are not even in his gym class that he’s soliciting out of the gym," said the attorney.
FOX35 obtained Hankerd’s teacher file from Volusia County which contained allegations of three other instances where students reported feeling uncomfortable around Hankerd.
The investigations from 2019 and two from 2021 each report students feeling uncomfortable because of personal questions or comments on their appearance Hankerd allegedly made. They also claimed he touched them in ways that made them feel uncomfortable. Hankerd denied these claims. Volusia County sent a letter of reprimand after the third report.
"We don’t take these incidents lightly," said Volusia County Public Schools Communications director Angel Gomez during an interview in February. "Nothing was ever brought forward that was not addressed or not investigated."
Hankerd was let go by the district when he was arrested on February 13th. Former students of Hankerd tell FOX35 they are glad the allegations are being taken seriously.
"I hope that he sees the repercussions for his actions and something's done. I hope more people step forward," said Jennifer Von Hein.
Volusia County Schools issued a statement today after the new charges were filed. They said in part, "The well-being of our students and staff, as well as the existence of safe, welcoming learning spaces, continues to be of the highest priority to VCS. The district will fully cooperate with local authorities as they investigate the new incident that has been reported. We encourage students and staff not to delay in expressing any concerns about inappropriate or suspicious behavior to administration or authorities."