VALRICO, Fla. — An ex-teacher and coach is facing brand new charges for molesting a student, and more could be on the way.
Hillsborough County Investigators say Matthew Hike molested students at two schools over the course of five years. The latest was a student from Bloomingdale High School in Valrico.
Hike, a former assistant football coach at Bloomingdale High, is accused of molesting one of his players more than 50 times between 2017 and 2021. The student was under the age of 18 when these incidents occurred.
Two weeks ago, Hike was arrested on separate charges for showing pornographic images and inappropriately touching a student at Livingstone Academy, where he was a teacher at a private school for children with disabilities.
The Hillsborough County Public School district said in a statement on Thursday: "Matthew Hike was terminated from his coaching position after his original arrest and passed all background checks prior to being on campus."
This isn't the first time a teacher has been arrested at Bloomingdale Senior High School in Valrico in recent years.
In 2021, Alberto Rivera Claudio, a Spanish teacher was arrested and accused of sexually abusing a student for more than a year. In 2018, Mark William Ackett, a teacher and girls' track coach, was charged with committing video voyeurism for filming girls in a changing room.
Bloomingdale senior Shelby Wingo told 10 Tampa Bay, "It's just becoming a running joke that we just let pedophiles into our school."
"It's a bit ridiculous that it's the third documented situation," said Wingo.
Emily Ashman attended Bloomingdale High in 2018, and was one of the students filmed by Ackett.
"It's just really frustrating at this point," said Ashman. "I think Bloomingdale really needs to get a hold on who they're hiring and what process they are taking."
Emily Ashman spoke at Mark Ackett's trial last year, before he was sentenced to 15 years in Florida prison.
She addressed him at the trial, saying, "It's time that you face the consequences of the permanent distress that you have caused us to face every day."
Now, Emily is addressing school officials, urging them to do more to protect its students.
"That consumed me for all of college, so I can only imagine the road ahead these kids have for them if any more of them are to step forward."
Hillsborough county schools declined an interview on Thursday, but shared an additional statement, saying: "All teachers, staff, and coaches undergo extensive background checks before they are hired."
Anyone who believes they may have been victimized by Matthew Hike is urged to call the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.