Bartram Trail High School’s head golf coach has been placed on disciplinary leave following his arrest over the weekend for allegedly engaging in lewd behavior near children at St. Augustine Beach.
Christopher Ford, 29, of St. Augustine, was charged Saturday with one felony count of obscene behavior in front of minors.
According to court documents, all five of the children involved ranged in age from 10 to 12.
In a formal disciplinary letter issued Monday by Superintendent Dr. Brennan Asplen, the St. Johns County School District notified Ford — who also taught at the school — that he was being placed on paid leave pending a recommendation for termination at a board meeting next month.
The letter cited “misconduct in office,” “commission of a criminal offense involving moral turpitude,” and “conduct unbecoming of a district employee,” the letter states.
The school district also confirmed that the incident would be reported to the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Professional Practices.
ST. JOHNS COUNTY KIDS EARN RECOGNITION ON NATIONAL STAGE
The arrest took place after police responded to a call around 11:20 a.m. Sunday near 16th Street at St. Augustine Beach.
A woman from North Carolina, who was chaperoning three foreign exchange students, told deputies she saw Ford “lingering” near the group in the surf and allowing the waves to push the children closer to him.
Soon after, another beachgoer approached the woman and said she had seen Ford allegedly masturbating near the children. An adult then separated the group from Ford.
Deputies later interviewed the second witness, who said she had also seen Ford earlier in the day approaching her own two daughters. According to the arrest report, the woman said, “It was very obvious Ford was intentionally masturbating” in their vicinity.
When questioned by police, Ford denied the allegations, saying he had “been nowhere near any children” and asserting it was a coincidence that multiple witnesses described the same behavior.
He also told deputies he never placed his hands in his shorts at any point during the day.
Ford was arrested at the scene and told officers he was a teacher at Bartram Trail High School.
Ford is the second Bartram Trail teacher to be arrested in as many months. In July, English teacher Lucas Worsham was charged with soliciting prostitution from an undercover officer online.
