Duval County Teacher Michael Worrell Arrested on Child Sex Charges
Fourth grade teacher Michael Worrell, 61, was removed from his classroom on Aug. 22 at Greenfield Elementary School on the Southside. According to the Duval County School District, he was arrested Tuesday on four counts of sexual battery on a child and one count of lewd and lascivious conduct on a child.
The police report states, three child victims told investigators that Worrell sexually assaulted them in various local hotels. The reports says the assaults ranged from 2006 to 2012, according to the report. The victims ranged in ages from 9 to 13 at the time of the offenses.
A school district spokeswoman Jill Johnson said this in a news release:
"The Duval Schools family is extremely concerned by the allegations against a teacher at Greenfield Elementary School," . "Based on new processes and enhanced communication between agencies, the district removed this teacher from the classroom immediately upon notification of an investigation into inappropriate behavior off campus. We will provide the outcome of the investigation to the Professional Practices Commission in Tallahassee for any potential action against his teaching certificate."
Worrell is not eligible for bond and the Department of Children and Families is also investigating the charges against him.
Worrell's wife, Alma Worrell, spoke publicly about her husband's arrest. She said it is hard on her family because they know the young people who accused her husband. She said they were at their home regularly, and she said her husband was just trying to help them out.
Alma said at least one of the three children is a girl her husband knew from one of the schools where he taught, and they've known each other for years. She said the girl even spent weeks at their home during the summer, and her husband would pick up her and her friend and buy them food when they needed it.
Parents of the school are alarmed and disgusted by the accusations. There might be some reason why Worrell might not have been a great pick to become a full time teacher.
According to Worrell's background and personnel file, in his last performance review in March 2011 was rated "satisfactory." He got an "unsatisfactory" rating for "shows sensitivity to students by maintaining a positive classroom environment." He got a "needs improvement" for "demonstrates professional behavior."
Channel 4 crime analyst Ken Jefferson says even when a person is in a position of trust, such as a teacher, parents still have to keep their guard up.
One parent gave some of the best advice anyone should take seriously when it comes to their kids:
"The best way to protect yourself as a parent and protecting your children is just to not trust anyone," Jefferson said. "You can't just close your eyes and give your kids away and think that they're in good hands because of the status of the individual."
Sometimes we just don't know where they find people like this to teach our children. We really want to know if they consider all areas when hiring teachers.
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