A 25-year-old security guard and coach at Westview PK-8 School in Jacksonville has been arrested on charges of lewd and lascivious behavior involving a minor, and school officials say the allegations do not involve any student or duties at the campus. DeShawn Collier was taken into custody by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and accused of lewd or lascivious behavior with a person aged 12 or older but under 16.
According to an arrest report relayed by News4JAX, the minor victim told police he first met Collier at a church two years ago, and the two later began communicating on Instagram using vanishing mode before their conversations turned sexual around August 2025. The victim reportedly told investigators he met Collier in a restroom at UF Health North hospital in Jacksonville to have sex, after which Collier allegedly gave him $180 in what the victim described as “hush” money, paid at a later date.
During an interview with Jacksonville Sheriff's Office detectives, the same report notes, Collier admitted to meeting the victim at the hospital for sex but denied that anything actually happened. He reportedly told detectives he was at a low point in his life and claimed the money he sent the teen was for Shein purchases, not payment to stay silent — a direct contradiction to the victim's account that remains unresolved in the charging documents.
School Says Case Is Unrelated to Campus Duties
Westview PK-8 Principal Jamie Griffin notified school families of Collier's arrest and said “the safety and well-being of our students remain our highest priority.” The allegations do not relate to Collier's position or duties at Westview, and the accusations do not involve a student at the school, officials said. Duval County Public Schools said Collier will not work at any campus in the district while the criminal case and an internal investigation continue, and the district said it will cooperate with law enforcement and follow all applicable policies and procedures. What specifically led to Collier's arrest was not detailed beyond the arrest report account, and it remains unclear at this time what prompted the investigation to begin.
Westview PK-8, located at 5270 Connie Jean Road, serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade and reported an enrollment of 1,221 students for the 2024–2025 school year, per the National Center for Education Statistics. The campus is a 172,000-square-foot, LEED Gold-certified facility built on 48 acres, with three two-story classroom wings, a dedicated autism spectrum wing, and full athletic fields, according to STO Building Group.
Statutory Framework Leaves Little Room for a Consent Defense
Under Florida Statute § 800.04, engaging in sexual activity or lewd or lascivious conduct with a minor aged 12 to 15 is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in state prison and a fine of as much as $10,000. The same statute explicitly bars an accused person from raising the victim's consent, ignorance of the victim's age, or the victim's misrepresentation of age as a legal defense in these cases, according to the Florida Senate.
Because Collier worked as a non-instructional security guard and coach with direct student contact, his position was subject to Level 2 background screening under the Jessica Lunsford Act, codified as Florida Statute § 1012.465. That law requires fingerprinting and national FBI background checks for such school employees and contractors, per the Florida Department of Education.
Part of a Broader Pattern of Scrutiny in Duval Schools
Collier's arrest lands amid a stretch of intensifying scrutiny over how Duval County Public Schools handles reports involving student and campus safety. In July, Hoodline reported that an internal district investigation found a former chief of schools had recklessly failed to report abuse claims tied to Douglas Anderson School of the Arts back in 2020. Earlier this month, a federal lawsuit accused the district of responding slowly and delaying evidence collection after a high school student was sexually assaulted on a school bus, a case Hoodline also covered in its reporting on the Stanton teen's family lawsuit. Duval County schools also recently beefed up campus security following an online violence threat, underscoring a district under sustained pressure over student protection protocols.
