Teacher gifted a smartphone to a middle schooler for sexting, police say

A gift of a phone and a solicitation for sexts got a former middle school teacher arrested, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office claims.

Michael Geist was arrested on charges of lewd and lascivious conduct solicitation not for giving a Rogers Middle School female student a smartphone in April. But, rather, what Geist allegedly told the student to do with that gift — have sexually-oriented communications with friends, including sending nude pictures, as well as take explicit videos and pictures of herself.

After the school notified HCSO in May, an investigation began and Geist resigned. He was arrested Monday and posted $7,500 bond on Tuesday.

This story was originally published September 18, 2016 at 2:10 PM with the headline "Teacher gifted a smartphone to a middle schooler for sexting, police say."