Brittiny Lopez-Murray former Hialeah rookie teacher of the year takes plea deal over sex battery with student after admitting copping feelings for her teen victim.
A married Florida drama school teacher and former Hialeah ‘rookie teacher of the year’ accused of having sex with a 14 year old student avoided prison Wednesday after taking a plea deal with prosecutors.
Brittiny Lopez-Murray, 33, entered a guilty plea for six charges, including lewd and lascivious battery, lewd and lascivious molestation involving a child aged 12 to 16, and electronic transmission harmful to minors.
According to NBC South Florida, Murray was ‘sentenced to two years of community control,’ followed by 10 years of probation. The educator is also required to register as a sex offender and attend mental health counseling for sex offenders with mental disorders.
Sexual predator develops feelings for teen victim
The victim’s parents reportedly approved of the plea deal.
Murray, who was named ‘rookie teacher of the year’ at Hialeah Middle School in 2017, had sex with her 14 year old victim in her car on numerous instances, starting in August 2021.
The victim’s father got involved after his daughter noticed the victim acting odd while on the phone, leading her to find ‘explicit text messages and photos’ between the teen and the teacher.
The father then saw a nude photo on his son’s phone that Lopez-Murray sent.
The victim later told police that Lopez-Murray sent him a text in August and revealed she had feelings for him.
Lopez-Murray began abusing the teen, who had previously been one of her seventh and eighth grade students, shortly after that text was sent, the affidavit had said.
Police said the pair met for coffee, which led to multiple dates where they would have sexual encounters in the teacher’s car, including in the parking lot of the Westland Mall and a Publix.
‘The defendant also groomed, enticed, encouraged the victim to send child p*rn*graphy images by writing things such as, ‘perfect, and yum,” an arrest affidavit read.
Read a statement the Miami-Dade school district issued following the female educator’s indictment in October, 2021, ‘saddened and disappointed over these serious allegations given that the District takes great measures to ensure our students are educated in safe learning environments.
All employees receive training and are expected to abide by the District’s Standards of Ethical Conduct policy. It is unfortunate that despite our efforts, the actions of some individuals run contrary to the behavior that is expected of them.’
Not immediately understood is what led to the female educator abusing her position of trust, authority and power to subjugate her male victim.
