FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A teacher at a Fort Lauderdale high school is accused of engaging in sex acts with a teenager.
Venorrice Wells, 31, was arrested Friday on charges of unlawful sexual activity with certain minors and offenses against students by authority figures.
Broward County Public Schools spokeswoman Cathleen Brennan said Wells is a science teacher at Dillard High School.
According to a Broward Sheriff's Office report, Wells had oral sex with the girl July 11 in the back seat of his Chevrolet Tahoe in the parking lot of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County, where he worked.
The girl told a friend, who reported the sexual encounter.
Wells told deputies he was giving the girl a ride home when she "took his hand and placed it inside her pants" while she touched his penis.
Brennan said the school district is working with authorities. She said Wells "will be reassigned to a work location away from students in the upcoming school year, pending the outcome of the investigation."
The girl's age and identity weren't revealed, but court records show she was 16 or 17. Wells said she told him she was 19.
Wells was released from jail on a $60,000 bond.
Investigators believe Wells could be preying on minors and want to know if he has engaged in inappropriate conduct with anyone else. Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 954-321-4240.