LAKELAND, Fla. — A Polk County high school teacher was arrested on Tuesday after it was revealed he had sexually battered a 17-year-old student twice, according to Polk County deputies.
Authorities say 26-year-old Richard Alcalde is a teacher and boys' soccer coach at Star Athletes Academy in Lakeland.
The sheriff's office began investigating after the teen's mother found flirtatious text messages between her daughter and Alcalde the night before.
Earlier that day, the mother told detectives she picked her daughter up at a Dollar General at 637 U.S. 17/92 in Haines City after having a phone call with her and noticed her daughter sounded intoxicated.
According to deputies, the teen said Alcalde gave her an alcoholic beverage at school, drove her to a gas station to get another one and then drove her to the Dollar General where he sexually battered her.
While speaking with detectives, Alcalde did admit to sexual battery but denied providing the minor with alcohol.
"Simply put—he preyed on this student and took advantage of her," Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. "He even tried to justify it by telling her that it was normal in his culture for a man his age to have a relationship with someone so young. Well, that doesn’t fly, and now he’s going to experience jail culture.”
Alcalde has been taken to the Sheriff's Processing Center and charged with first, second and third-degree felonies; including sexual battery by custodian, sexual offense on a student by an authority figure, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.