BARTOW, Fla. – A teacher who’s also the head football coach at Bartow High School stands accused of voyeurism and inappropriate conduct toward students, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office on Thursday said Tyler Eden, 31, was arrested on charges of lewd offense against a student by an authority figure, lewd and lascivious touching of a minor and voyeurism.
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According to the sheriff’s office, an investigation began on April 2 after a parent said her daughter met with Eden to do extracurricular work for community service hours.
Detectives learned that Eden had asked the student to help with athletic chores in the locker room to earn service hours.
The sheriff’s office said during this time, Eden talk to the girl about “a teacher who wanted to have sex with him in the locker room.”
When the student told Eden she did not want to talk about that, he told the student that he was married “but still wanted to engage in sexual activity with the teacher,” a news release said.
The following day, the student was helping Eden break down boxes when her jacket got caught and the zipper broke, according to deputies.
The girl asked Eden for a T-shirt to cover herself and “Eden responded by reaching out and unzipping her jacket all the way‚” the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies said the girl told him that she was uncomfortable since she was not wearing a shirt underneath the jacket.
“Eden repeatedly tried to fix the jacket, but eventually handed her a T-shirt. The victim walked into a separate locker room area to change. When she turned around, he was standing right behind her, watching her. He then complimented her bra, and told her repeatedly there were no cameras there,” the sheriff’s office said.
The student told Eden that she was uncomfortable and he asked her not to report him, deputies said. She informed her parents about the incident later that evening and it was relayed to the school the following day, officials said.
School administrators learned of the incident and asked Eden about it, deputies said. Eden first told the school he only provided the girl a T-shirt, but when he was informed that he was being placed on administrative leave, he offered to “admit something” and told the school that “at the student’s request, he attempted to help her fix her zipper,” the sheriff’s office said.
Detectives also learned that two other girls, both students, experienced similar incidents with Eden.
According to the sheriff’s office, one girl said she was told by Eden there were no cameras in the locker rooms and how it would be “easy to do certain things in there.” She also said he told her that another teacher wanted to have sex with him in the locker room, according to officials.
The other girl said she was asked by Eden what she wanted to do after graduation and she told him she wanted to become an obstetrician/gynecologist, deputies said. He then replied that he would be a good gynecologist and used crude and graphic language to explain why, the sheriff’s office said.
“It’s unconscionable that an educator and coach would engage in this kind of behavior with students. This individual has shown that he cannot be trusted, and deserves to face justice for his actions. We commend the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for their thorough investigation, and for taking action to protect students,” Polk County Superintendent Fred Heid said in a statement.