MIAMI (FL)
WPLG-TV, ABC-10 [Miami FL]
May 9, 2023
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A South Florida teacher who was arrested last week appears to have a pattern of jumping from school to school, with short employment stints at each, to include a public school in Miami-Dade County.
Local 10 News has learned that after 29-year-old Eric Givens was fired from St. Mary’s Cathedral School for sending an inappropriate text to a student, it is also there where police say a victim told them he grabbed her wrist, hair and breasts on several occasions while she was in the 5th grade.
Givens is now facing several charges, including battery.
A 10-year-old girl at Theodore and Thelma Gibson Charter School would later tell police that in March, Givens sent her an in appropriate text that read, in part, “always wanted to date you” along with a picture of himself wearing only boxer briefs.
Givens was a part-time coach at South Miami Senior High, according to Miami-Dade County Public Schools officials. They said his employment started in August of 2021 and that his last day was Dec. 30 2022.
According to MDCPS, Givens was a “part time football coach” and there were no conflicts listed in her personnel file.
They said he was “terminated for issues with punctuality.”
In his arrest forms Givens denied the allegations at the Catholic school, and when it comes to the charter school, he said he thought he was texting the 10-year-old’s mother.
The school Givens was working at when he was arrested, Scheck Hillel Community School, has since fired him.
Authorities believe there may be more victims and are asking anyone to come forward and call police.