Teacher accused of having sex with student, lying on job application

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — A Flagler County high school teacher resigned after he was accused of having sex with an 18-year-old student and paying her $5,500 through mobile apps.

Timothy Whitfield is also accused of lying on his application to get his teaching job at Flagler Palm Coast High School less than a year ago.

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The district said Whitfield hid the fact he had been investigated twice while working as a contractor through the state’s Department of Juvenile Justice. Records show he was investigated once for violating policy and a second time for making inappropriate comments.

A child in the second case claimed that Whitfield told him he would be raped and used a homophobic slur.

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Following that, Whitfield was terminated.

But when he applied with the school district, Whitfield put down that he had never been investigated for misconduct by a former employer.

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The district said in a statement that Whitfield passed the Florida Department of Law Enforcement background check and there were no red flags in his hiring.

The district said it does not usually request personnel files from previous employers, and human resources did conduct reference checks on Whitfield.

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Whitfield did not respond to an email for comment.

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