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Family of teen allegedly involved with 45-year-old woman say he received threats

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A family member of a teen who police say was involved in a sexual relationship with a 45-year-old woman said the boy received threats when the relationship was revealed.

Iris Spears, 45, was arrested, eight months after police were first tipped off about an alleged sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy.

"Obviously the mother, she's very distraught, she is very upset. She cannot believe that someone who befriended her would betray her in this manner," one of the boy's family members told Channel 9.

That family member said the teen initially denied that there was a sexual relationship.

After the mother found a text message from Spears on her son's phone she went to Altamonte police but the phone wasn't searched. Later, the mother went to Orlando police, whose forensic examiner found photos that had been saved inside a password-protected app.

According to the family member, those pictures confirmed the alleged sexual relationship and were enough to move police to arrest Spears. But not before the boy received disturbing threats, that family member said.

The boy started receiving threatening messages allegedly saying that he was going to be shot in the face, the family member told Channel 9.

Spears is described as a close friend of the family who works for the company that owns the downtown Sheraton hotel, where police said some of alleged sexual encounters took place.

Police said they found multiple pictures of a nude Spears on the boy's phone that were taken at her house and others that were taken at the downtown Sheraton, where Spears worked.

"This is definitely something that we need to address when someone has a disgusting act like that against a child - a minor. We have to protect. We do not want to see her slapped on the wrist," the family member said

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