Manatee school board fires teacher accused of sexting student

The School Board of Manatee County officially fired Haile Middle School teacher Oliver Fell on Tuesday at its board meeting.

Fell was charged June 2 after being arrested by Manatee County Sheriff's Office deputies with lewd conduct against a student by an authority figure in the second degree as well as transmission of harmful material to a minor, which is a third-degree felony. 

Fell allegedly was in contact with a 14-year-old student via social media and exchanged a nude photo via Snapchat. The victim's mother addressed the school board during public comment on Tuesday.

“I stand before you today, not only as a mother, but for every child who has been silenced, punished or ignored for simply doing the right thing,” the mother said. “My son was a victim of sexual harassment by a faculty member employed by this very district.”

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The mother said when her son reported the inappropriate behavior, the school district did not report the incident to the appropriate people and it was her own family who called child protective services on March 3. She said her son received a 10-day suspension when he reported.

“The teacher who sent these explicit messages was not even placed on administrative leave until two months after when the criminal investigation had ended,” said the mother. 

“I want to know where the failures are, where they happened,” said Board Member Cindy Spray. “Where we get those answers is working through the legal system.”

Interim Superintendent Kevin Chapman addressed the concern and said the district will take valuable time during its leadership conference to further train their employees to have a better relationship with the Sheriff’s Office to work on student safety procedures.

“The Manatee County Sheriff's Office is taking it seriously, as we are, to make sure laws and procedures were followed,” Chapman said. 

Chapman said they should have the results of the investigation this week and will update as needed.