TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A former South Florida teacher who was named “rookie teacher of the year” in 2017 pleaded guilty to sex crimes with a 14-year-old boy.
Brittiny Lopez-Murray, 33, pleaded guilty after she molested the underage student several times during after-school hours and summer break, NBC affiliate WTVJ reported.
She entered a guilty plea to six charges including lewd and lascivious battery and lascivious molestation of a child, according to WTVJ.
Court records said Lopez-Murray would pick the boy up from basketball practice and text him sexually explicit images and messages.
WTVJ said she could’ve spent up to 90 years in prison but was only sentenced to house arrest and probation. She must register as a sex offender.
She will also have to enter the Mentally Disordered Sexual Offender Treatment Program or MBSO until discharged, according to the plea agreement. This program includes therapy and she must actively participate.
WTVJ reported that Lopez-Murray must also stay away from kids. According to records, she’s prohibited from teaching or holding a job with a uniform.
In October 2021, she was arrested after sparking up a relationship with a 14-year-old student in August 2021. She was a drama teacher at Hialeah Middle School, where she taught him before he entered high school in the fall of 2021, WTVJ said.
A police report obtained by WTVJ said the teen’s sister found the explicit messages and photos after becoming suspicious of his behavior. The teen’s dad saw messages that detailed, “how much they enjoyed the sex with each other.”
The victim told police how Lopez-Murray sent him a text one day and they met for coffee. That encounter later led to multiple sex acts in her car in the parking lot at a mall and a grocery store, the report said.
