MELBOURNE, Fla. -- A local teacher didn't make it to class Monday. Instead, police went to his home to arrest him after, they say, he had sex with a teenage girl. Investigators say the 31-year-old high school teacher met the teenager at a Brevard County gym.

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Astronaut High School had to call in a substitute teacher to teach freshman English after their new teacher, Anthony Miller (photo left), was accused of taking his relationship with a teenage girl too far.

Miller got a lesson in criminal justice Monday, making his first appearance before a judge at the Brevard County Jail. The 31-year-old was arrested at his home in Viera as he got ready for school.

He's accused of sleeping with a 16-year-old girl he befriended two years earlier at a Brevard County gym.

"They made some phone calls to each other and, at one point, she went over to his residence and that's where she says the sexual intercourse took place," says Agent Rob Carey, Brevard Co. Sheriff's Office.

Investigators say Miller admitted only that the girl went to his home and nothing more. In court, his attorney challenged the charges, using his teaching job to bolster his defense.

"It's exactly that that makes him a prime target for false allegations. He has absolutely no prior criminal history," the attorney told the judge.

Miller had just changed careers and began teaching at Astronaut High School in Titusville last month.

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The teenager attends a different Brevard County school, which contacted authorities when they learned of the allegations. Most of his students had no idea why he never showed up for class.

"We walked into 3rd period and we already had one teacher quit, we just figured he quit too," a student commented.

Investigators say there's no reason to believe Miller was involved with any of his own students.

"At this point, we haven't had any children come forward," says Agent Carey.

In the meantime, the judge set Miller's bond at $35,000 and ordered him not to have any contact with children, with the exception of his 8-year-old son.

Miller has been suspended with pay from the school district while they wait for the criminal proceedings to take place.

The Brevard County School District says they performed a background check on Miller before he started teaching. The school district's Office of Public Safety conducts the check, using information provided by both the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI. The checks did not turn up any red flags.