Gulf Breeze High School teacher Molly Mersereau has been terminated.
The Santa Rosa County District Schools fired Mersereau after she was charged with two counts of using a two-way device to commit a felony, one count of criminal solicitation, one count of an authority figure engaging in a romantic relationship with a student and one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
According to Gulf Breeze High School’s website, before Mersereau’s profile was seemingly removed, she was listed as a Career and Technical Education (CTE) or vocational (VOC) teacher. In a Facebook post made by Santa Rosa County District Schools in April, she was listed as a Hospitality and Tourism Academy teacher for Gulf Breeze High.
Mersereau was placed on administrative leave immediately after her arrest, and the school board voted to fire her effective Aug. 8 during their regular meeting Aug. 7.
An arrest report obtained by the News Journal says Mersereau and the student were investigated by administration at the end of the 2024-2025 school year after reports that the student was riding in Mersereau’s vehicle during school trips and spending excessive time with her in the mornings.
“During that internal investigation, several individuals, including Molly and (the student) provided written statements that, among other things, admitted that Molly frequently texted (the student) from her personally owned cell phone, which was a violation of school policy, and had given the student rides in her personally owned vehicle,” the report said.
The Gulf Breeze Police Department received the initial complaint, which came from a person who is personal friends with Mersereau, who said the teacher “told her directly that she was having sex with one of” the students, according to the report.
Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Randy Tift told the News Journal their investigators first received the information from the Gulf Breeze Police Department, who in turn had an anonymous Crime Stoppers tip of the alleged relationship.
Once deputies began investigating, Tift said they learned Mersereau gave the student a burner phone so they could discreetly communicate with each other.
“Love letters showed there was an active relationship (between the two),” Tift told the News Journal.
Tift also said the student denied having any type of relationship with the teacher. Under Florida law, minors are unable to consent to any type of sexual advance or relationship.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Gulf Breeze teacher Molly Mersereau fired for alleged sexual relationship with student
Reporting by Mary Lett, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
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