Teacher Jason Michael Tarlton, 30, was arrested on Tuesday near Ocala, Florida
A high school teacher has been arrested for allegedly having sex with a 17-year-old former student and telling her she was ‘worth it’ if he ever got caught.
Lake Weir High School teacher Jason Michael Tarlton, 30, was arrested on Tuesday near Ocala, Florida and charged with sexual assault by a custodian on a minor, after cops got a shocking tip.
The tipster alerted police that nude photos of Tarlton and the teen female had appeared on the ‘After School’ phone app, which describes itself as a private messageboard to share ‘confessions, funny experiences, compliments, feelings’ and more with classmates.
One of the pictures showed Tarlton and the girl standing in front of a mirror in a hotel bathroom partially undressed, police said.
The other picture was of Tarlton completely nude.
Tarlton teaches English at Lake Weir High School near Ocala, Florida. He was placed on administrative leave following his arrest on Tuesday, the school said
Police located the girl, who told them she had accidentally posted the photos online.
She had Tarlton as a teacher last year, but is no longer a student at Lake Weir, police said.
‘She told detectives that they became friends and eventually became sexually involved,’ the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
‘She said that Tarlton told her that he loved her and if he ever got caught, he said she was “worth it”,’ the statement continued.
Detectives found Tarlton at his home and placed him under arrested.
They noted that on the passenger seat of his car, there was a freshly printed copy of Chapter 948.30 of the Florida Statutes, which outlines probation and community control conditions for sex offenders.
The 17-year-old girl told police she had accidentally posted nude photos of Tarlton to the ‘After School’ phone app, which led to his arrest
Tarlton was booked into Marion County Jail and has been released on $10,000 bond.
A spokesperson for Marion County Public Schools told the Ocala Star-Banner that Tarlton was placed on administrative leave on Tuesday.
Tarlton is an English literature teacher at the school and was hired by the district in 2016, the spokesman said. He said Tarlton does not have a disciplinary record.
Tarlton could not be reached for comment, and online court records do not list a pending court date in the case.