She sent texts and expensive gifts to her 13-year-old student. She won’t go to prison

A Doral charter school teacher who sent a series of inappropriate messages and expensive gifts to a 13-year-old student won’t be going to jail.

Andrea Jimenez, 48, pleaded guilty to child abuse with no harm and agreed to spend five years on probation. No felony conviction will show on her record, and she won’t be placed on a sex-offender registry.

Jimenez was a science teacher at Doral International Math & Science Academy. Doral police officer initially arrested her on charges of lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor. According to police, Jimenez told a 13-year-old student that she was in love with him and spoke explicitly about his body parts.

The department also said Jimenez bought her student clothing, shoes, electronics, toys and books — gifts that raised the suspicions of the boy’s parents.

According to police, Jimenez also lured the student into a classroom, put both hands on his face and tried to kiss him. He fought off her advances, police said.

But Jimenez’s defense lawyer, Jude Faccidomo, said the messages were never sexual in nature and Doral police issued a press release “sensationalizing” the allegations.

“This was never a sexual offense,” Faccidomo said. “Ms. Jimenez is accepting this plea agreement today as a compromise, to put this matter behind her largely for her family and the family of the young man involved. She’s one of the kindest and sweetest women I’ve ever had the pleasure of representing.”

In a final memo on the case, prosecutors said the messages were “inappropriate in nature” but it would be hard to prove to a jury that she was trying to provoke a lewd act. One message sent through the social-media app Snapchat: “[C]an’t wait to see u tomorrow. Are u happy to see me and hug me soon?”

Jimenez is also giving up her teaching credential. Assistant State Attorney Meagan Sarraff, in her memo released Wednesday, said the teen and his family blessed the plea deal because they “wanted to ensure that the defendant would not be able to teach in the Dade County School System or any school system.”

This story was originally published November 20, 2019 at 11:12 AM.