A Hillsborough County public school teacher who instructs disabled schoolchildren has been charged with molesting a student, officials said
George Summers, 68, was arrested Wednesday at his Tampa home on a lewd and lascivious molestation charge, the Tampa Police Department said.
ABC Action News went to Summers' listed address Thursday, a man said to be his partner told reporter Ryan Smith that Summers enjoyed his work and "loved working with the kids."
On Dec. 1, school officials at LaVoy Exceptional Center school located at 4410 W. Main St. in Tampa, learned about an allegation that a teacher had inappropriately touched a disabled, teenage student while on school grounds, according to a Tampa Police report.
Two witnesses reported that Summers touched a male students' private parts, then described Summers as "grinding" on the victim in the classroom.
Using his position of authority, police say, to take advantage of a teenager who was unable to effectively communicate.
"Someone who works at the school saw something that didn't look right and reported to the authorities there at the school," said Steve Hegarty with the Tampa Police Department.
The teacher, who was identified as Summers, was removed from the classroom, and Tampa police were contacted.
After conducting interviews, police detectives charged Summers with lewd and lascivious molestation of a disabled person by an authority figure over a student.
According to district officials, Summers has been with Hillsborough County Schools since 2005, working at LaVoy since 2009.
School board members will soon vote on his termination.
This is a developing story. Stay with ABCActionNews.com for updates.
