A teacher at a private Florida boarding school with hefty tuition rates has been charged with having sex with a student — including once in her car while at a beach, deputies said Tuesday.
Taylor J. Anderson, a 38-year-old teacher at IMG Academy in Bradenton, surrendered on charges late Monday including sexual battery by custodial authority after school staffers told deputies about a possible sexual relationship between her and a student last week, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
“IMG administration had overheard rumors about an unlawful relationship and quickly confronted that student to confirm whether the rumors were true,” deputies said in a statement.
The student, whose age and gender weren’t released, later admitted to having sex with Anderson. She was not allowed back onto the school’s campus and was fired a short time afterward, deputies said.
A subsequent investigation revealed that Anderson was communicating directly with the student via social media and text messages over several weeks. Detectives said the teacher on one occasion picked up the student at their apartment in July and went to the beach, where the pair “engaged in sex acts” in Anderson’s car.
Anderson declined to speak with investigators, leading deputies to execute search warrants at her home, as well as others pertaining to her car and cellphone.
Evidence obtained during the searches, along with data from the student’s cellphone, led to arrest warrant filed against Anderson, deputies said.
Detectives tried to serve the arrest warrants at Anderson’s Manatee County home, but she wasn’t there, sheriff spokesman Randy Warren told The Post Tuesday. Deputies then contacted an attorney for Anderson to inform her of the charges she faced.
Anderson was terminated Wednesday, one day after school staffers learned of the possible sexual relationship. She then made a brief out-of-state trip before surrendering on charges of sexual battery by custodial authority, traveling to meet a minor and transmission of harmful material to a minor, deputies said.
A message seeking comment from IMG Academy — a boarding school for student-athletes in grades 6-12 — was not immediately returned Tuesday. Warren said he did not have attorney information for Anderson.
Annual tuition at the boarding school for high school student-athletes in 2021-22 starts at $84,400 for sports like basketball and lacrosse, according to IMG Academy’s website. The package, which includes standard housing and meal options, is more than $91,000 for high schoolers who play golf.