‘It’s sad, it’s truly disturbing’: 2nd Bradford County school employee accused of child sex crimes

STARKE, Fla. — In a span of three days, two Bradford County School District employees have been arrested on child sex-related charges.

With her hoodie up and head ducked down, 24-year-old Autumn Rodgers turned herself in on Wednesday; she’s listed as a middle school paraprofessional on the school district’s website.

RELATED: Second Bradford County School District employee arrested for alleged sex crimes related to student

“It’s sad, it’s truly disturbing,” Saul Urrutia said.

Urrutia is an 11th grader at Bradford High School and says he knew of Autumn, saying she seemed cool but didn’t expect this. Autumn Rodgers is accused of having a relationship with a 16-year-old female student- that started when the victim was 15. The arrest report says Autumn Rodgers sent inappropriate photos and admitted to having physical sexual activity with the student.

As Rodgers was walking into the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office, Action News Jax tried asking her for a comment on the accusations and if she thinks she should be allowed back in a school. She did not comment.

On Tuesday, Action News Jax told you about Lainie Rodgers, who was arrested after deputies learned she was allegedly inappropriately texting with a 16-year-old girl; she’s listed as the head volleyball coach for Bradford High School.

Despite the same last name, the Sheriff’s office said they are not blood-related but are friends and co-workers, these are separate cases with two different 16-year-old victims.

“Just to think it happened back-to-back in one night, it’s very scary,” Urrutia said.

A video given to Action News Jax shows Lainie Rodgers in a Tik Tok that’s been screen recorded and potentially edited with words reading, “We were practically dating,” “NO ONE EVER KNEW” and “YOU BETRA-.” The Sheriff’s office confirmed it’s Lainie in the video, it’s her account and have the video in their possession.

The Sheriff’s office also confirmed they have ongoing investigations into other employees within the district, but right now there is not enough evidence to pursue criminal charges.

“Information that seems to have the most legitimacy, we are taking first and focusing our resources on that,” Bradford County Sheriff’s Office Colonel Brad Smith said. “If we determine that anybody else has committed any crimes, we will pursue those to the fullest.”

Action News Jax emailed the district about the ongoing investigations and was told the following by the Assistant Superintendent:

“We are shocked and saddened about the recent news regarding members of our staff. The safety and well-being of our students is always our top priority, and we will not tolerate any behavior that puts that in jeopardy. We are fully cooperating with the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office and have launched our own internal investigation as well. The employees in question were placed on immediate administrative leave while the accusations against them are fully investigated. We have offered counseling services for our students at any time, if needed. The safety and well-being of our students is always our top priority, and we will not tolerate any behavior that puts that in jeopardy. We encourage anyone that has any information that may assist us in the protection of our students to please contact us.”

Urrutia says he feels uncomfortable and wants the district to figure out what’s going on.

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“This can’t happen, we don’t deserve this; we are students, we come to school to be safe,” he said.

The Bradford County Sheriff’s office also said they want people who have information about any crime to speak up, asking the community to stay away from rumors. Autumn Rodgers has since been released from jail on a $125,000 bond, Lainie Rodgers was released from jail on a $75,000 bond.

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