Possible South Fort Myers High sex video renews investigation

The Lee County Sheriff's Office is checking into a cellphone video reportedly taken of a recent incident at South Fort Myers High School during which multiple male students had sex with a female student in a restroom.

"We are looking into a video that has surfaced," Lt. Jeff Dektas, public information officer for the LCSO, said."We're just investigating it like any other case."

Dektas was not able to confirm if the office had the video or just computer screen shots from the mobile phone. The video came to light after being posted on social media and then taken down.

The Florida Department of Children and Families is also involved in the case, spokeswoman Natalie Harrell confirmed.

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"We are ... investigating the concerning incident that took place at South Fort Myers High School. We are working in conjunction with local authorities but our investigation is into the welfare and safety of the children involved," Harrell said in an email to The News-Press.

Principal Melissa Layner reported the May 17 incident  to the sheriff’s office’s school-based deputy, Jarrod Cantrell, the following morning.

Using footage captured from a hallway camera, Cantrell "observed 25 male students go inside the restroom over the time frame of the female being inside the restroom," an LCSO report stated.

Layner spoke with the female student, who "confirmed that she had sex with a number of willing males."

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Dektas confirmed that all the parents whose children were involved have signed a complaint withdrawal in the case, effectively ending the active investigation. Last week a report on the incident by the sheriff's office said that the mother of one of the students involved responded to the scene and gave a verbal complaint withdrawal to a detective investigating the case.

"The case is not closed," he said, " We did not reverse any decisions."

The sheriff's office said that if more information was to surface or the parents of the girl involved wished to pursue charges, then the original case could go forward.

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Harrell added that any charges or legal actions would come from the sheriff''s office investigation into the incident.

"Since each investigation is unique with its own factors, we can't say with specifics as to the outcome that will occur from this specific investigation," she said. "In cases where we have verified cases of maltreatment, we have a wide range of services and options available to ensure the current and future well-being and safety of the children involved."

Because of the female’s age, the special victims unit was called in, and the incident was reported to the Florida Abuse Hotline.

With parent permission, detectives took a student’s cellphone for evidence, and sworn statements were taken from some of the male students.

When asked how students were disciplined as a result of this situation, Lee schools’ spokeswoman Amity Chandler said, "We are not going to discuss discipline in any capacity, including numbers."

Chandler did say, however, that those who were directly involved in the situation numbered significantly less than 25. "Not every young man who entered the bathroom engaged in sexual activity," she said.

Lee schools Superintendent Greg Adkins wrote a letter to parents on Tuesday.

"We too were shocked to hear of the events at South High. I am certain you appreciate the privacy afforded to the students involved. We have just as much of a responsibility to protect their privacy as we do to provide every assurance to you that we have responded, and continue to respond to this incident to ensure it does not occur again," he wrote.

South Fort Myers' principal sent a message to parents shortly after 1 p.m. Friday explaining that she cannot speak about student discipline with the media or parents of other students. However, she said student discipline was dealt quickly.

Adkins echoed that and added: "Conversations about right and wrong have occurred in many contexts, and with the parents present. We recognize that this is not just an issue of student behavior, but also of supervision."

He said hundreds of students participate in after-school activities throughout high schools in the district.

"It is a long standing culture that high school students are entrusted with a certain amount of freedom to navigate the school classrooms and hallways to participate in after-school activities with teachers, club sponsors and coaches never being too far away," Adkins wrote.

South Fort Myers is home to nearly 2,000 students, according to Layner.

Near the end of the letter, Adkins made a plea: "I ask we move forward from this incident without further harsh judgment of those involved. They are adolescents who have made a serious mistake. They have been disciplined. They must now be afforded the opportunity to learn from their mistakes."

Connect with this reporter: MichaelBraunNP (Facebook) @MichaelBraunNP (Twitter). The News-Press reporter Pamela McCabe and Ben Brasch contributed to this report.