Another Ex-Student Breaks Silence on Teacher Accused of Molestation
Publish date: 2024-06-29
‘I Was Groomed’: Another Ex-Student Breaks Silence on Teacher Accused of Molestation Skip to Main Content 
","type":"Social","width":552,"content":"https://www.facebook.com/popdpolice/posts/pfbid04pFYyrg2Fh4EbEoz8Q5Cze77vzqyDWYRjHcM9nH3bZkwgMhKMPCNfRcRBEk5NisFl","version":"1.0","author_url":"https://www.facebook.com/popdpolice","author_name":"Port Orange Police Department","provider_url":"https://www.facebook.com","responseType":"rich","provider_name":"Facebook","socialChecked":"facebook"}]],"markups":[["a",["href","https://www.facebook.com/popdpolice/posts/pfbid028Mtju2JP6zymoym3hWMFmaC1t72wrU4ZEHkJ8yKRxRDYTohUBL2enp4aiateu48Al"]],["a",["href","https://www.facebook.com/arin.hankerd"]],["a",["href","https://www.facebook.com/VolusiaCountySchools"]]],"version":"0.3.0","sections":[[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"On Sunday, a 42-year-old Florida gym teacher was arrested for allegedly having “an ongoing inappropriate sexual relationship” with a 15-year-old pupil. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"But the disturbing claims against Arin Hankerd didn’t come as much of a surprise to multiple former students who were interviewed by The Daily Beast."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"One of those students, who asked to remain anonymous, said she started “unofficially dating” Hankerd when she was just a senior at Mainland High School in 2018 after years of flirting. The two regularly spent weekends together at his home in Ormond Beach, she alleges."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"“You don’t think about how much time you’re spending when you’re in it,” she said. “But really we spent more time together back then than I did with my own family.”"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The woman, now 21, said she still had a relationship with Hankerd until Sunday night, when she saw a post by the Port Orange Police Department "],[0,[0],1,"announcing his arrest"],[0,[],0,". At that point, she said all of the “red flags” she ignored for years sunk in, and she claims she contacted police to tell her story the next morning. The Ormond Beach Police Department confirmed to The Daily Beast that an interview has been scheduled for later this week with a woman regarding Hankerd’s arrest."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"“It's been a lot to take in. I’m honestly so disgusted by it all,” she said."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The Daily Beast has viewed screenshots of multiple messages between the now 21-year-old and Hankerd from 2018 in which they discuss spending time together."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The woman said she’s “heartbroken” by the allegations, and that she now realizes she was “groomed” by Hankerd."]]],[10,0],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"He’d regularly buy her alcohol, clothes, and more while she was still in school, she alleges. And while she knew what was happening was wrong, she said she “felt like she was grown,” and Hankerd made her feel the same way about their relationship."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"“It was known he had a thing for soccer girls and freshmen because he was a gym coach,” the woman said."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The 21-year-old added that she knows “for certain” that Hankerd began dating at least one other teenager “the second” she graduated from high school in 2016 because he openly talked about it. The girl was a former teammate of hers on the school’s soccer team."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"That story was corroborated by two other students who spoke to The Daily Beast. Miranda Conn said she recalled seeing Hankerd on a “date” at Texas Roadhouse with a Mainland student “a grade or two below me” shortly after she graduated in 2015."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"A flurry of comments took over the police’s post announcing Hankerd’s arrest. These comments made the 21-year-old realize she wasn’t alone, she said, with former students alleging that Hankerd had harassed them as far back as 2010."]]],[10,1],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Even those who weren’t students in Hankerd’s gym class told The Daily Beast that it was well known at Mainland—a high school of approximately 1,500 students in Daytona Beach—that Hankerd would flirt with many of his students."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"“I didn’t really have any personal experiences, there were always rumors that he was dating students and he flirted with them,” Cody Garrison, who attended from 2015 to 2018, told The Daily Beast in a Facebook message. “Just felt like all the rumors were confirmed after he got arrested and it’s sad it took this long.”"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"A third student, who asked to remain anonymous, said Hankerd regularly made “weird” comments to her—like complimenting her jeans—and invited her out to lunch when she was as young as 16. She said he added her on social media when she was still his student, and that—even after moving schools—he sent her a Facebook message on her 18th birthday."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"“I would just be polite because I didn’t know what to say,” she said."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"That student, now 20, said she recently started ignoring Hankerd’s messages all together, including one last week that asked what her Super Bowl Sunday plans were."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Hankerd’s ex-girlfriend says she thinks the teacher’s good looks and charismatic nature played a part in him avoiding trouble for so long at Mainland High School. Police said in a statement Sunday that Hankerd had also recently worked at Father Lopez Catholic High School in Daytona Beach and was working at Atlantic High School, in Port Orange, at the time of his arrest."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"“I think a large part of the reason why it took so many years before he finally got caught is because of how good-looking and charismatic he is,” she said. “Even though us kids knew he was weird and we told our teachers and administrators repeatedly, his behavior would always be dismissed as friendly and charming, and we were just told to avoid him as much as possible.”"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Court records indicate that Hankerd went through a divorce in 2016. His former wife did not respond to multiple calls and messages sent by The Daily Beast."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Port Orange police said they made the arrest after receiving a tip that Hankerd was having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl on Friday. The department said a brief investigation revealed that Hankerd had been talking to the girl since early January."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"An arrest affidavit detailed disturbing allegations against Hankerd. The document said he’d kiss the student in his portable before school and talked to her about being a stepmom to his kids."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"A search of the victim’s phone revealed a string of shocking messages allegedly sent by Hankerd through Instagram. In them, the teacher allegedly talked about her body, asked her to have sex and tried to convince her to send him naked videos, while sending her nudes from his shower."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"“Nope,” the girl responded, according to the affidavit. “Like I said, tried to stay innocent for as long as I could.”"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The affidavit said Hankerd told the child he had an extra bedroom reserved for her at his home, and told her once to, “Come get a kiss, babe,” when she wrote that she was in Ormond Beach."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Police allege that Hankerd repeatedly messaged the child that he loved her. In one chilling message included in the affidavit, Hankerd insinuated that the child’s “trembling” turned him on."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Cops said they began investigating Hankerd after the victim’s mother read her daughter’s journal, which mentioned their sexual relationship and that they “loved” each other."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The affidavit also mentioned past allegations of inappropriate behavior with students at Mainland High School. Those reports, investigated by Daytona Beach police, never led to charges being filed against Hankerd."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Students allegedly said in those reports that Hankerd touched them inappropriately, with one saying he grabbed her thigh and shoulders. The other noted the teacher asked inappropriate questions, like whether she’d go out with an older man, the affidavit said."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Dates were not provided for either report."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Cops say they searched Hankerd’s home and arrested him at 7:16 p.m. Sunday. Hankerd now faces charges for molestation and for traveling to meet a minor, among others."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Hankerd made his initial court appearance on Monday afternoon. His attorney did not respond to a voicemail left by The Daily Beast."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Hankerd was the head football coach at Atlantic High School and regularly posted about coaching on his "],[0,[1],1,"public Facebook profile"],[0,[],0,", which says he graduated high school in Volusia County himself."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The Volusia County School Board did not respond to questions sent by The Daily Beast about Hankerd’s disciplinary history. In a statement posted to social media on Monday afternoon, the district said school officials met Hankerd at the local jail and he resigned his position."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"“The safety and security of our students and staff is of utmost importance to us and we will continue to cooperate fully with the local authorities as part of this investigation,” the "],[0,[2],1,"statement said"],[0,[],0,"."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Hankerd is being held at the Volusia County Branch Jail in lieu of a $115,000 bail."]]]]},"hero":{"image":{"id":"3896824","crops":{"1_1":{"x":632.7097039473684,"y":0,"width":1688,"height":1688},"16_9":{"x":0,"y":0,"width":3000,"height":1688},"original":{"x":0,"y":0,"width":3000,"height":1688}},"title":"","credit":"Volusia County 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