A 27-year-old Jacksonville man who worked as a substitute teacher at First Coast High School was arrested on a warrant involving a student, accused of meeting the teen at a park for a sexual encounter and later trying to force the student into a classroom closet. Cameron Coverson was taken into custody near Duval Road and Mission Creek Drive and booked into the Duval County Jail.
According to News4JAX, the investigation began after a student reported concerns to the school's principal, prompting detectives to review messages between Coverson and the student and conduct a controlled phone call. Investigators allege the messages included student-teacher roleplay conversations. Coverson allegedly had an inappropriate relationship with the student over the summer in May, and investigators say he later had inappropriate contact with the student at school.
Park Meeting and a Classroom Confrontation
The arrest report alleges that Coverson and the student met at a park for a sexual interaction on August 1. Weeks later, on September 16, the report claims Coverson asked the student to come to his classroom; surveillance video reportedly captured the two of them walking inside together. Investigators allege that once inside, Coverson prevented the student from leaving and attempted to force the student into the classroom's closet.
During the controlled phone call detectives arranged, the student can reportedly be heard telling Coverson, “if you want to do something, you could at least wait until like school is over, cause that was really risky.”
Charges and Court Proceedings
Coverson was arrested on the warrant last Monday, September 21, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. He was charged with two counts of unlawful sexual activity with certain minors, traveling to meet a minor to commit unlawful acts, offenses against students by authority figures, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
Court documents indicate that Coverson pleaded not guilty and waived his appearance at arraignment, which is now scheduled for October 14. News4JAX has contacted Duval County Public Schools for comment and, as of its report, was still awaiting a reply.
How Florida Law Treats These Allegations
Under Florida Statute 800.101, an authority figure — defined to include anyone 18 or older employed by, volunteering at, or under contract with a school — may not solicit or engage in a relationship of a romantic nature with a student, a violation classified as a second-degree felony. Separately, Florida Statute 847.0135 makes it a second-degree felony for someone to travel to meet a minor after using an online or electronic service to solicit unlawful sexual conduct, while knowingly using such a service to solicit or entice a child is a third-degree felony under the same statute; misrepresenting one's age during that conduct escalates the offense to a second-degree felony.
Cases involving substitute teachers accused of sexual misconduct with students have surfaced elsewhere in Florida. In Palm Beach County, 21-year-old Corey Pierce, who worked as a substitute teacher and hall monitor at two middle schools, was accused of sexual misconduct with a 12-year-old student, according to KATV. That report says Pierce faced two counts of sexual battery involving a victim aged 12 to under 18 and one count alleging that an authority figure solicited or engaged in lewd conduct with a student, with the case ultimately involving three reported victims and authorities saying more could come forward.
