09-001102PL Jeanine Blomberg, As Commissioner Of Education vs. Sean Alexander Gentry Status: Closed Recommended Order on Tuesday, August 18, 2009.

Summary: Teacher had inappropriate relationship with student and used School District-issued computer to view pornographic materials.

STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

JEANINE BLOMBERG, AS )

COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) Case No. 09-1102PL

)

SEAN ALEXANDER GENTRY, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, a final hearing was held in this case

on June 30, 2009, in Sanford, Florida, before Susan B. Harrell,

a designated Administrative Law Judge of the Division of

Administrative Hearings.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: Edward T. Bauer, Esquire

Brooks, LeBoeuf, Bennett,

Foster & Gwartney, P.A.

909 East Park Avenue

Tallahassee, Florida 32301

For Respondent: (No appearance)

STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES

The issues in this case are whether Respondent violated

Florida Statutes (2005), 1 and Florida Administrative Code

Rules 6B-1.006(3)(a), 6B-1.006(3)(e), 6B-1.006(3)(h),

and 6B-1.006(4)(c), and, if so, what discipline should be

imposed.

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

On September 5, 2007, Petitioner issued an Administrative

Complaint against Respondent, Sean Alexander Gentry

(Mr. Gentry), alleging that he had engaged in an inappropriate

relationship with a minor female student and used his school

district-issued laptop computer to download pornographic

materials in violation of Subsections 1012.795(1)(c),

1012.795(1)(f), and 1012.795(1)(i), Florida Statutes, and

Florida Administrative Code Rules 6B-1.006(3)(a),

requested an administrative hearing, and the case was forwarded

to the Division of Administrative Hearings on March 2, 2009, for

assignment to an Administrative Law Judge to conduct the final

hearing.

The final hearing was originally scheduled for May 4, 2009.

Petitioner requested a continuance, which was granted, and the

final hearing was re-scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on June 30, 2009.

Mr. Gentry was provided a copy of the Order scheduling the final

hearing for June 30, 2009.

Neither Mr. Gentry nor a representative of Mr. Gentry

appeared at the scheduled time for the final hearing. The

commencement of the final hearing was delayed until 9:55 a.m.,

but neither Mr. Gentry nor a representative appeared.

Petitioner called John L. Reichert, Donna Michelle

Reynolds, and John Byerly as witnesses. Petitioner’s Exhibits 1

through 18 were admitted in evidence. Petitioner was given

leave to take and file the deposition of R.M. post-hearing. The

deposition of R.M. was filed on July 31, 2009.

The one-volume Transcript was filed on July 29, 2009.

Petitioner filed a Proposed Recommended Order on August 4, 2009,

and the Proposed Recommended Order has been given due

consideration in the preparation of this Recommended Order.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Petitioner is the state agency responsible for

certifying and regulating public school teachers in Florida.

Mr. Gentry was issued Florida Educator’s Certificate No. 965629

in the area of social science. The certificate was valid

through June 30, 2007.

2. At all times pertinent to this case, Mr. Gentry was

employed as a teacher at Crooms Academy of Information

Technology (Crooms Academy) in the Seminole County School

District (School District).

3. The School District had a policy concerning the use of

the School District’s electronic resources which prohibited

“[a]ccessing, downloading, storing, viewing, sending, or

displaying text, images, movies, or sounds that contain

pornography, obscenity, or language that offends or degrades

others.” The School District had a policy which prohibited

personal relationships between students and teachers.

Mr. Gentry signed an acknowledgment form on July 27, 2005,

stating that he had received a copy of the School District

policies concerning fraternization with students and the

acceptable use of electronic resources and that he understood

the obligations and responsibilities of the policies.

4. During the fall semester of 2005, the assistant

principal at Crooms Academy, Donna Michelle Reynolds

(Ms. Reynolds), noticed that L.M., a female student who was then

17 years old, began eating lunch with Mr. Gentry in his

classroom with no one else present. L.M. was also a member of

an after-school club started by Mr. Gentry, in which the student

members were engaged in role playing games similar to Dungeons

and Dragons. Mr. Gentry was also teaching L.M. calligraphy

after school.

5. Based on her observations of L.M., Ms. Reynolds felt

that L.M. had a school-girl crush on Mr. Gentry. Rumors were

circulating around the school that there was a romantic

relationship between Mr. Gentry and L.M. Ms. Reynolds advised

Mr. Gentry that he should not eat lunch alone with L.M. and that

he should not teach L.M. calligraphy after school unless it was

done in the media center when other adults were on duty. She

emphasized to Mr. Gentry that it was inappropriate for a male

teacher to be alone on a regular basis with a female student.

6. When L.M. began as a freshman at Crooms Academy, she

had some behavioral problems and a learning disability. By the

fall of 2005, L.M. had made progress in her education, had

matured, and was on track to graduate. In the late fall

of 2005, L.M., who would be turning 18 in December 2005, came to

Ms. Reynolds and told Ms. Reynolds that she planned to leave

Crooms Academy and enroll in an adult education program. The

reason for leaving Crooms Academy given by L.M. was that she was

not getting along with her parents and that she was going to

move in with a friend. Ms. Reynolds tried unsuccessfully to

discourage L.M. from leaving Crooms Academy, feeling that it was

in L.M.’s interests to remain at Crooms Academy, because L.M.

was on track to graduate. L.M. withdrew from Crooms Academy in

January 2006.

7. On February 14, 2006, Mr. Gentry reported to work

looking haggard and unkempt. At first, Mr. Gentry told

Ms. Reynolds that L.M. had called him from a bus stop at Wal-

Mart and told him that she had taken an overdose of pills. He

said he went to Wal-Mart, picked up L.M., took her to the

hospital, and stayed at the hospital all night. After being

questioned by Ms. Reynolds, Mr. Gentry confessed that L.M. had

been at his house the previous day, they had an argument, and,

when he returned from work, he found that L.M. had taken a

bottle of pills. He took L.M. to the hospital and stayed with

her while she was being treated. When he felt that L.M. was

stable, he called her parents and advised them what had

happened.

8. Mr. Gentry talked with the principal of Crooms Academy

and submitted his resignation.

9. Mr. Gentry had been assigned a laptop computer by the

School District. After he submitted his resignation,

Ms. Reynolds and the principal confiscated Mr. Gentry’s laptop

computer. On February 15, 2006, the laptop computer was turned

over to John Byerly, an investigator with the School District.

10. Using professionally accepted forensic techniques,

Mr. Byerly examined the hard drive of Mr. Gentry’s School

District-issued laptop computer. His examination revealed that,

in addition to L.M.’s school e-mail address, Mr. Gentry’s

computer contained multiple, alternate e-mail addresses for L.M.

The hard drive contained several e-mails sent by Mr. Gentry to

L.M. while she was enrolled at Crooms Academy.

11. One e-mail from Mr. Gentry to L.M. stated: “God is

preventing us for [sic] having any contact until your birthday

because there is an increased chance of us getting caught.” In

several different e-mails, Mr. Gentry told L.M. that he loved

her.

12. In an attempt to learn why L.M. had taken an overdose,

her father read some of her journals. There were entries in her

journals in which she professed her love for Mr. Gentry as far

back as April 2005. Shortly after her attempted suicide, her

father confronted L.M. about her relationship with Mr. Gentry,

and she admitted that they had been romantically involved for

several months.

13. Sometime in early 2006, Mr. Gentry and L.M. eloped.

14. Mr. Byerly’s examination of Mr. Gentry’s School

District-issued computer revealed that Mr. Gentry had been using

the computer to access websites, which contained obscene and

pornographic materials. Such materials included unclad adults

involved in sexual acts. The examination further revealed that

the computer had been used regularly from July 2005 through the

date of Mr. Gentry’s resignation to access websites that

contained sexually explicit photographs.

15. After the investigation was completed, the School

District concluded that Mr. Gentry had violated School District

policies by engaging in a romantic relationship with a student

and by using his School District-issued computer to view

inappropriate materials. The School District terminated his

employment on April 12, 2006.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

16. The Division of Administrative Hearings has

jurisdiction over the parties to and the subject matter of this

proceeding. §§ 120.569 and 120.57, Fla. Stat. (2008).

17. Petitioner bears the burden to establish the

allegations in the Administrative Complaint by clear and

convincing evidence. Department of Banking and Finance v.

Osborne Stern and Co. , 670 So. 2d 932 (Fla. 1996). Petitioner

has alleged that Mr. Gentry violated Subsections 1012.795(1)(c),

1012.795(1)(f), and 1012.795(1)(i), Florida Statutes, and

Florida Administrative Code Rules 6B-1.006(3)(a),

6B-1.006(3)(e), 6B-1.006(3)(h), and 6B-1.006(4)(c).

18. Subsection 1012.795(1), Florida Statutes, provides:

(1) The Education Practices Commission may

suspend the educator certificate of any

person as defined in s. 1012.01(2) or (3)

for a period of time not to exceed 5 years,

thereby denying that person the right to

teach or otherwise be employed by a district

school board or public school in any

capacity requiring direct contact with

students for that period of time, after

which the holder may return to teaching as

provided in subsection (4); may revoke the

educator certificate of any person, thereby

denying that person the right to teach or

otherwise be employed by a district school

board or public school in any capacity

requiring direct contact with students for a

period of time not to exceed 10 years, with

reinstatement subject to the provisions of

subsection (4); may revoke permanently the

educator certificate of any person thereby

denying that person the right to teach or

otherwise be employed by a district school

board or public school in any capacity

requiring direct contact with students; may

suspend the educator certificate, upon order

of the court, of any person found to have a

delinquent child support obligation; or may

impose any other penalty provided by law,

provided it can be shown that the person:

* * *

(c) Has been guilty of gross immorality or

an act involving moral turpitude.

* * *

(f) Upon investigation, has been found

guilty of personal conduct which seriously

reduces that person's effectiveness as an

employee of the district school board.

* * *

(i) Has violated the Principles of

Professional Conduct for the Education

Profession prescribed by State Board of

Education rules.

19. Florida Administrative Code Rule 6B-1.006 provides:

(1) The following disciplinary rule shall

constitute the Principles of Professional

Conduct for the Education Profession in

Florida.

(2) Violation of any of these principles

shall subject the individual to revocation

or suspension of the individual educator’s

certificate, or the other penalties as

provided by law.

(3) Obligation to the student requires that

the individual:

(a) Shall make reasonable effort to protect

the student from conditions harmful to

learning and/or to the student’s mental and/

or physical health and/or safety.

* * *

(e) Shall not intentionally expose a

student to unnecessary embarrassment or

disparagement.

* * *

(h) Shall not exploit a relationship with a

student for personal gain or advantage.

* * *

(4) Obligation to the public requires that

the individual:

* * *

(c) Shall not use institutional privileges

for personal gain or advantage.

not defined in the context of Section 1012.795, Florida

Statutes, but guidance may be found in Florida Administrative

Code Rule 6B-4.009, which provides the basis for charges upon

which dismissal action by the school districts against

instructional personnel may be taken. Florida Administrative

Code Rule 6B-4.009 provides:

(2) Immorality is defined as conduct that

is inconsistent with the standards of public

conscience and good morals. It is conduct

sufficiently notorious to bring the

individual concerned or the education

profession into public disgrace or

disrespect and impair the individual’s

service in the community.

* * *

(6) Moral turpitude is a crime that is

evidenced by an act of baseness, vileness or

depravity in the private and social duties,

which, according to the accepted standards

of the time a man owes to his or her fellow

man or to society in general, and the doing

of the act itself and not its prohibition by

statute fixes the moral turpitude.

21. “Moral turpitude” has also been defined by the Florida

Supreme Court as follows:

Moral turpitude involves the idea of

inherent baseness or depravity in the

private social relations or duties owed by

man to man or by man to society. It has

also been defined as anything done contrary

to justice, honesty, principle, or good

morals, though, it often involves the

question of intent as when unintentionally

committed through error of judgment when

wrong was not contemplated.

State ex rel. Tullidge v. Hollingsworth , 146 So. 660, 661

(Fla. 1933).

22. Petitioner has established by clear and convincing

evidence that Mr. Gentry violated Subsections 1012.795(1)(c) and

1012.795(1)(f), Florida Statutes. A teacher becoming involved

in a romantic relationship with a minor student is conduct which

is inconsistent with the standards of public conscience and good

morals.

23. Petitioner has established by clear and convincing

evidence that Mr. Gentry violated Florida Administrative Code

Rules 6B-1.006(3)(a), 6B-1.006(3)(e), 6B-1.006(3)(h), and

6B-1.006(4)(c) by engaging in a romantic relationship with a

student while the student was a minor enrolled in school.

Obviously, engaging in a romantic relationship with a student is

not conducive to a productive learning environment.

Mr. Gentry’s conduct with L.M. was the subject of rumors at

Crooms Academy and, thus, subjected L.M. to embarrassment and

disparagement. Mr. Gentry used his position as a teacher to

further his romantic interests in L.M. through the use of his

computer, his teaching of calligraphy, and eating lunch alone

with L.M. in his classroom.

24. Petitioner has established by clear and convincing

evidence that Mr. Gentry violated Florida Administrative Code

Rule 6B-1.006(4)(c) by using his School District-issued laptop

computer to access pornographic websites and to communicate with

L.M. on nonschool-related issues.

25. Having established that Mr. Gentry violated provisions

of Florida Administrative Code Rule 6B-1.006, Petitioner has

established that Mr. Gentry violated Subsection 1012.795(1)(i),

Florida Statutes.

26. Petitioner seeks permanent revocation of Mr. Gentry’s

educator’s certificate. Pursuant to Subsection 1012.795(1),

Florida Statutes, and the facts of this case, such discipline is

warranted.

RECOMMENDATION

Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of

Law, it is RECOMMENDED that a final order be entered finding

that Sean Alexander Gentry violated Subsections 1012.795(1)(c),

1012.795(1)(f), and 1012.795(1)(i), Florida Statutes; violated

Florida Administrative Code Rules 6B-1.006(3)(a),

6B-1.006(3)(e), 6B-1.006(3)(h), and 6b-1.006(4)(c); and

permanently revoking his educator’s certificate.

DONE AND ENTERED this 18th day of August, 2009, in

Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida.

S

SUSAN B. HARRELL

Administrative Law Judge

Division of Administrative Hearings

The DeSoto Building

1230 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060

[phone]

Fax Filing [phone]

www.doah.state.fl.us

Filed with the Clerk of the

Division of Administrative Hearings

this 18th day of August, 2009.

ENDNOTE

1/ Unless otherwise indicated, all references to the Florida

Statutes are to the 2005 version.

COPIES FURNISHED :

Edward T. Bauer, Esquire

Brooks, LeBoeuf, Bennett,

Foster & Gwartney, P.A.

909 East Park Avenue

Tallahassee, Florida 32301

Sean Alexander Gentry

421 South Sunset Drive

Casselberry, Florida 32707-4319

Kathleen M. Richards, Executive Director

Education Practices Commission

Department of Education

Turlington Building, Suite 224-E

325 West Gaines Street

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400

Deborah K. Kearney, General Counsel

Department of Education

Turlington Building, Suite 1244

325 West Gaines Street

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400

Marian Lambeth, Bureau Chief

Bureau of Professional Practices Services

Department of Education

Turlington Building, Suite 224-E

325 West Gaines Street

Tallahassee, Florida, 32399-0400

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO SUBMIT EXCEPTIONS

All parties have the right to submit written exceptions within

15 days from the date of this Recommended Order. Any exceptions

to this Recommended Order should be filed with the agency that

will issue the Final Order in this case.