According to a press release from Florida's Winter Haven Police Department, Robin Dunlap, a Haines City High School teacher, first turned herself in to officials on September 19 after learning she'd sent nude photos to a 15-year-old boy who had presented himself as a 19-year-old.
— Winter Haven Police (@WHPoliceDept) December 19, 2017
Though the two first began to talk via Xbox One's online gaming service, the conversations did not become more sexual in nature until after they'd exchanged phone numbers and began to text one another. The jig was later up for the teen once his mother discovered the conversations and informed Dunlap of the teen's real age.
But this wouldn't be the last time the two would exchange messages.
On October 29, more than a month after Dunlap had turned herself in, Winter Haven detectives were alerted by the teen's father that the 27-year-old teacher was still in contact with the boy even after learning his true age. This time, however, the two were speaking through Google Hangout chats.
After confirming the messages, detectives confronted Dunlap at her home on December 17. When asked why the two were still conversing, the teacher responded by saying that the teen was "the only person that she can talk to and the only one who understands her."
Dunlap then gave officers consent to search the phones in her possession, which were reportedly "extremely vulgar" and contained "sexually explicit language," according to the police report. The conversations on the phone were dated from November 26 to December 11. Detectives booked the instructor after that.
"There is absolutely no excuse for an adult — especially a high school teacher — to continue sexually explicit conversations with a 15-year-old long after his real age is revealed," said Winter Haven's Police Chief Charlie Bird. "The vulnerable age of this victim and the fact that this woman took advantage of him for her own personal needs is inexcusable."
Dunlap is charged with transmitting material harmful to minor and using a two-way communication device to commit a felony, according to the police report.
