WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. — A Winter Springs High School Social Studies teacher who was arrested for lewd and lascivious battery on a minor faced a judge on Thursday.
ON Wednesday, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) Crimes Against Children Unit arrested Lucas Cridlebaugh, 25, of Sanford on three counts of lewd and lascivious battery on a minor and two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation of a minor.
On Monday, the mother of victim, contacted deputies after she learned that Cridlebaugh exchanged sexually explicit messages with her daughter, a Winter Springs High School student, over the spring and early summer of 2023 when she was just 15 years old.
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During the investigation, detectives learned that Cridlebaugh inappropriately touched the teen five times, with all of the incidents happening in the classroom, except for one that happened in a nearby parking lot.
Detectives questioned Cridlebaugh at his home in Sanford where he admitted to sex acts with the girl and said quote, “I know what I did was wrong.”
Seminole County Public Schools released a statement saying that Cridlebaugh was immediately placed on administrative leave and this incident was reported to the Department of Family and Children Services and Law Enforcement per our operating procedures.
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“Any allegations of misconduct by our staff will be taken seriously and handled quickly. We will continue to fully cooperate and assist law enforcement as they continue their investigation. The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority and any type of behavior that jeopardizes that safety will not be tolerated in Seminole County Public Schools,” according to the SCPS release.
At Thursday’s hearing, the judge found probable cause for Cridlebaugh’s arrest and detention on all five counts and ordered him to not have any contact with any child under the age of 18.
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Cridlebaugh remains booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility on a $75,000 bond.
If he is released, he will have to wear and EMPACT Monitor and cannot return to Winter Springs High School.
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