Anthony Witter is a college success coach at Lennard High School, who had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old female student over the course of about four months. He has been arrested on charges of having sex with a minor, deputies said.
Witter had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old female student between November and March, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. Witter was not the student’s teacher but they met at school, deputies said.
Age
He is 37 years old.
Sex Charges
A college success coach was arrested at his Ruskin home after being accused of allegedly having sex with a student.
Anthony Errol Witter was tutoring students at Lennard High School and according to authorities, he began having sex with a 16-year-old student in November.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said the girl attends the school where Witter worked but was not his student. Everything came to light after the girl’s friend found out and reported it.
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Another student who is a friend of the victim reported the relationship to an adult, triggering the investigation, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Deputies said detectives do not believe there are other victims.
Arrested
According to an arrest report, four of the six sexual encounters happened at Witter’s Ruskin home. During an interview with a Sheriff’s Office investigator, Witter “denied having anything other than a professional counselor to student relationship with the victim,” the report states.
Records show Witter was arrested at his home on Thursday night and booked into the Hillsborough County jail early Friday on six counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor. He was being held Friday in lieu of $45,000 bail, records show.
Career
Witter has worked at Lennard since he started with the district in July and did not have a prior disciplinary history, according to a Hillsborough County schools spokeswoman. He has been pulled from duty pending a meeting with the Professional Standards department.
“Our district is shocked and disappointed at this reprehensible behavior, and it will not be tolerated in this school district,” a district statement said. “We are thankful that another student had the courage to report the situation to a trusted adult so proper action could be taken.”
A success coach helps students by setting goals to improve in areas such as academic performance, attendance, and behavior, according to a district job description. Personnel records show that as of October, Witter’s annual salary was $51,001.16.
On his Facebook page, Witter describes himself as an “Educator, Coach, Trainer, Father, Mentor” who is “Here to impact growth and development through athletics.”
