Longtime Miami teacher had sex in class with student ‘every day after school,’ cops say

A retired Miami-Dade history teacher has been arrested on allegations he repeatedly had sex with a 17-year-old student in his classroom at the Terra Environmental Research Institute Magnet School.

Tom Miller Privett, now 70, was jailed on allegations of sexual battery with a child under custodial authority.

The investigation was spearheaded by the Miami-Dade Schools police and the State Attorney’s Office. Privett was arrested in Pinellas County, where he’d been living. He remains in jail there while awaiting extradition to Miami. It was unclear whether he has an attorney.

Privett, a 30-year history and government teacher, taught most of his career at South Dade High and at Terra, a magnet school in West Kendall. He was also a longtime volunteer at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, where he frequently worked with students.

“Every educator deserves to earn the trust and respect placed in them by students, parents and school administrators,” State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement. “When a teacher transforms from an esteemed educator to an alleged sexual predator, lives are permanently damaged, trust is betrayed, and a serious crime has been committed.”

An arrest warrant released on Friday portrayed Privett as a calculated predator who groomed the girl over years.

He first met the student in 2012 when the girl was in his ninth-grade world history class, prosecutors said. As she mourned a death in the family, he began wooing her, touching her inappropriately.

“These touches began as rubbing her arms while in class, then rubbing her back, and continued to kiss her on the head, cheek and partial lips,” according to an arrest warrant by schools Detective Ismael Castilla.

In the girl’s 10th grade year, Privett began making “rude and disrespectful” comments about the girl’s weight. She eventually developed an eating disorder, the warrant said, in order to “look good” for Privett.

By 11th grade, police said, the conversations turned explicitly sexual — Privett began talking to her about his “sexual desires” and fetishes. By her senior year, in 2016, Privett took the girl’s virginity in his classroom, according to police.

“The victim further alleged that she and Privett engaged in sexual activity every day after school inside of Privett’s classroom for the next three months until the school year ended,” according to the state.

Even after the girl was in a car accident that “caused her serious discomfort in her hips,” Privett insisted they have sex “because this is what she was supposed to do,” the warrant said.

The girl came forward to police in December. To help build evidence against him, the girl called Privett to discuss their sexual relationship, as detectives listened. Privett “engaged in this conversation” and confirmed the girl’s account, police said.

Prosecutors believe there may be more victims. Anyone with information can call the State Attorney’s Office at 305-547-0441.

This story was originally published January 31, 2020 at 4:23 PM.