The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Roberto Diaz is an assistant teacher and Bible study teacher at Poinciana Christian Preparatory School South in Poinciana, Florida. Diaz stands accused of inappropriately touching an eighteen-year-old student and asking her for a nude photo. According to WFTS, Diaz admitted his crimes to law enforcement.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports:
A Bible studies teacher at a private Christian school inappropriately touched a student and asked her for a nude photo of herself on WhatsApp, according to a Florida sheriff’s office. An 18-year-old student told school staff that Roberto Diaz, 53, a ninth-grade teacher’s assistant and Bible studies teacher at Poinciana Christian Preparatory School South, sent her about six messages on WhatsApp between Feb. 6 and Feb. 14, according to a news release from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. He asked her for photos of herself, including a nude photo, according to the sheriff’s office.
The student said she refused the requests and asked Diaz to stop messaging her, the release says. On Feb. 15, Diaz put his hand on her chin and neck and “attempted to kiss her and touch her breast,” the release says.
The school’s director said in an email to McClatchy News that Diaz had been terminated. Deputies arrested Diaz on Feb. 21, according to the sheriff’s office. He faces a charge of sex offense on a student by an authority figure, the release says. He is being held without bond, according to Polk County jail records.
….
Poinciana Christian Preparatory School South is a private, non-denominational Christian school serving grades K-12, according to its website.
Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.
