Local

40 women contact police after former Volusia County teacher arrested

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — More than 40 women have contacted Port Orange police after news broke that a former Volusia County teacher was accused of having sex with a 15-year-old student.

Police said the women issued concerns about Arin Hankerd’s conduct. Investigators said four of them were victims of sexual abuse and all were introduced to him while he was a teacher at various high schools.

>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<

Attorneys for the state said since Hankerd was arrested they’ve “opened up Pandora’s box with this.”

Hankerd’s attorney said these additional complaints are all just allegations and there’s not enough evidence to support them, but a judge did find Wednesday that there is enough evidence to up Hankerd’s bond to $250,000.

Read: Volusia County teacher, gym coach suspended after accusations of sexual relationship with student

State attorneys said Wednesday that there are over 400 screenshots documenting Hankerd’s relationship with the 15-year-old student. They said that includes nude pictures Hankerd sent to that student and inappropriate sexual conversations.

In court Wednesday, state attorneys also showed surveillance video that captured where Hankered and the student would meet on school grounds, both in a gym storage closet and in portables, which is where detectives say Hankerd and the student would have inappropriate sexual contact.

Read: The push to close the pandemic learning gap

Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.

Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson, WFTV.com

Sarah Wilson joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2018 as a digital producer after working as an award-winning newspaper reporter for nearly a decade in various communities across Central Florida.

0