Felix Varela High teacher arrested, accused of attempting to sexually engage student
A 40-year-old teacher at Felix Varela Senior High has been arrested after a student accused him of attempting to sexually engage her during class.
Andy Barbosa-Morrell was arrested Tuesday on charges of child abuse with no great bodily harm and making offenses against a student by an authority figure. He has been an employee for Miami-Dade Public Schools since 2017 and has had no prior disciplinary history, according to the school district.
Barbosa-Morrell’s defense lawyer, Orlando Rodriguez, called his client “a committed teacher, and a loving husband and father” and said the “allegations against him are baseless and exaggerated.”
The incident happened Friday during Spanish class, officials say.
A high school student at Felix Varela, 15255 SW 96th St, told police she was sitting at her desk when Barbosa-Morrell leaned down and caressed her leg right below her knee, according to his arrest affidavit. He asked if she was OK.
The girl told police she felt “creeped” out and that he stayed standing over her, smiling and staring, until she asked him why he was staring, police said.
Later in class, when the student had her head down on the desk, Barbosa-Morell walked over, gripped her hair and “jerked her head up and back,” the report states.
He “then placed his lips on the victim’s ear and whispered softly, No hable,” and then “forcefully pushed the victim’s head forward,” according to the report. No hable is Spanish for “don’t talk.”
When class ended and students were leaving, he told the girl, “No Hug? Give me a kiss” in Spanish, according to the report. She left. The student described the situation to police “as if he was attempting to sexually engage her,” according to the report.
Barbosa-Morrell’s defense attorney pushed back on the allegations.
“The very idea that a teacher would make sexual advances towards a student in a classroom full of students is absolutely absurd,” Rodriguez said.
“Mr. Barbosa merely tried to wake a student who was sleeping in his classroom,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “He tapped her shin (she was wearing long pants) in efforts to wake her. Neither did Mr. Barbosa pull her hair or make any of the statements alleged in the affidavit.”
He added: “I ask that you keep in mind that [formal] charges have not been filed against Mr. Barbosa, and that you withhold judgment until the real facts come to light.”
Police note in the report that several witnesses in the class were interviewed and corroborated the girl’s account and that when they asked Barbosa-Morrell about the incident, he stated “that he did not remember the incident, but never denied it occurring.”
The school district issued this emailed statement:
“Miami-Dade County Public Schools is deeply troubled by the disturbing allegations made against this individual. As soon as the claims surfaced, the employee was immediately removed from the school setting. Conduct such as the one he is accused of will not be tolerated. As such, the District will initiate employment termination proceedings, and will ensure the individual is precluded from seeking future employment with the District.”
Barbosa-Morrell’s arrest comes a day after a teacher at Piper High School in Sunrise was arrested on charges relating to sexual misconduct with a student.
Miami Herald staff writer David Ovalle contributed to this report.
This story was originally published February 3, 2022 at 11:45 AM.
