Julie Hoover, pictured in mugshots from June and September.
A 39-year-old former private Christian high school teacher who was arrested as recently as June for allegedly sexting a student now faces even more legal troubles.
Julie Kinsey Hoover of Perry, Florida was booked on Tuesday, Sept. 6, on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and soliciting or engaging in sexual conduct against a student by an authority figure, jail records reviewed by Law&Crime show. The former is a misdemeanor and the latter is a felony.
The more serious charge falls under 800.101.2a [emphasis added]:
800.101 Offenses against students by authority figures.—
(1) As used in this section, the term:
(a) “Authority figure” means a person 18 years of age or older who is employed by, volunteering at, or under contract with a school, including school resource officers as provided in s. 1006.12.
(b) “School” has the same meaning as provided in s. 1003.01 and includes a private school as defined in s. 1002.01, a voluntary prekindergarten education program as described in s. 1002.53(3), early learning programs, a public school as described in s. 402.3025(1), the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, and the Florida Virtual School established under s. 1002.37. The term does not include a facility dedicated exclusively to the education of adults.
(c) “Student” means a person who is enrolled at a school.
(2) An authority figure shall not solicit or engage in:
(a) Sexual conduct;
(b) A relationship of a romantic nature; or
(c) Lewd conduct
Jail records described the alleged behavior as lewd and lascivious.
The misdemeanor charge falls under a child abuse statute, which criminalizes “endeavors to induce, by act, threat, command, or persuasion, a child to commit or perform any act, follow any course of conduct, or live in a manner that causes or tends to cause such child to become or to remain a dependent or delinquent child or a child in need of services.”
Hoover was released from custody around a half an hour after she was booked, jail records indicate.
According to local CBS affiliate WCTV, the alleged lewd conduct was twerking on a student at the Point of Grace Christian School’s prom on April 8, where Hoover worked at the time. In addition, Hoover allegedly tried to persuade the unidentified male student to drink from her alcoholic beverage via a straw.
The report said that multiple people witnessed the twerking incident. For those unfamiliar, Merriam-Webster defines twerking as “sexually suggestive dancing characterized by rapid, repeated hip thrusts and shaking of the buttocks especially while squatting.”
The student reportedly told authorities that Hoover made him uncomfortable by twerking on him “each time he got onto or even near the dance floor.”
The latest charges come months after Hoover was accused of soliciting or engaging in sexual conduct with a student by an authority figure. Authorities have not specified whether the two cases involved the same student.
As Law&Crime reported in June, a mother reported to police that the suspect had exchanged sexually explicit text messages with her son, an 18-year-old high school senior.
Hoover allegedly had plans to sneak the student into her home while her husband was at work.
Investigators reportedly found that Hoover and the teen began exchanging messages in March 2022 and continued to do so through April 2022.
After Hoover’s latest arrest, the Point of Grace Christian School reportedly confirmed that the suspect is a “former teacher” and said the school has cooperated with the law enforcement investigation. It’s unclear if she has an attorney in this matter.
[Image via Taylor County Sheriff’s Office]
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