Dr. Keiva Lark, an assistant principal at a Florida middle school, was arrested for allegedly making a student massage her feet and using inappropriate language while doing so.
The 53-year-old has been charged with lewd/lascivious conduct and lewd offense against a student by an authority figure, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Lark was put on administrative leave while an investigation was underway.
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According to Gray News, the investigation started on April 4 after the head principal of Lake Marion Creek Middle School reported the incident to the police.
The 13-year-old student, according to deputies, was brought to Lark’s office for flinging paper balls across the classroom during a test.
While in the office, according to two witnesses and the victim, Lark told the victim to rub her feet “since he didn’t have anything better to do with his hands.” She allegedly took off her shoes and placed her legs across the boy’s lap, and he did as he was told.
Lark was heard telling the boy to rub her feet “correctly” and showing him how she wanted to be massaged on his arm and shoulder.
According to a coworker, Lark asked the student to “rub her feet like he loved her.” Lark explained to the child that she was doing this so he would “know what foreplay is for when he gets a girlfriend,” according to the witness.
A coworker claimed that Lark revealed a few days later that she “crossed the line” during the event. The victim reported to the authorities that Lark had called him “Sexy Chocolate” as they had passed each other in the school hallway.
Lark, however, told officers that this was “only a joke” and that she was attempting to “humble” the boy
“It’s completely inappropriate for a 53-year-old woman to act and talk like this to a middle school boy. It’s even worse given that this was an assistant principal and her student,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement.
Although Lark later acknowledged that her behavior was improper, the sheriff said that she denied saying anything inappropriate to the student.
Frederick Heid, the superintendent of Polk County Public Schools, stated that Lark no longer has “any business” being near children.
“This is abhorrent behavior for anyone who works among students, especially an administrator. This person no longer has any business being around children,” Heid noted in a statement. “We commend the school principal for immediately reporting this incident, so we could take action and work with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office to protect students.”
