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Former school employee arrested on molestation charge

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A former employee of the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind is facing one count of lewd and lascivious molestation of a minor.

According to the arrest report, signed by campus Police Chief Jerry Chandlee, the incident happened June 1 while 26-year-old Amber Nicole Blackmer worked in a position of custodial authority. The report described how Blackmer kissed a 15-year-old child. 

Nine days later, she was booked in to the St. Johns County Jail on a $50,000 bond.

Action News went to Blackmer's home in Elkton but neighbors said she recently moved out.

"I was riding my bike up and down the road and I was like 'You leaving?' and she was like, 'Yeah, I'm moving away because I got divorced,'" said Dalton Delaney. It's unclear if the victim in this case is a student at the FSDB or if the incident happened on school property. 

In a statement to Action News, school president Dr. Jeanne Glidden Prickett said:

"Allegations of staff misconduct at Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (FSDB) are taken very seriously. They are reported as required by state and federal laws and regulations. This allegation of a former FSDB employee was directed to law enforcement authorities and the Florida Department of Children and Families.

"Currently, the State Attorney's Office is investigating and handling all aspects of the reported misconduct. Out of respect for this ongoing investigation and the parties involved the school declines to provide further comment."

According to the Department of Children and Families, it has offered the victim counseling. 

Blackmer has since bonded out of jail and is awaiting her next court date.