Lawsuits claim Manatee school leaders ignored early signs of child abuse
New lawsuits against the School District of Manatee County claim that district leaders ignored early warning signs that could have prevented children from being sexually abused by a school employee.
Both cases refer to an ongoing criminal case against Angel Rodriguez Mercado, a former instructional aide at Florine J. Abel Elementary School in south Manatee County. Mercado, 68, was charged with lewd and lascivious molestation, in November 2023.
According to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, Mercado confessed shortly after his arrest.
However, the new civil cases filed on June 20 and June 23 deepen allegations that the School District of Manatee County did not properly investigate previous accusations against Mercado before the 2023 arrest.
A representative from the School District of Manatee County said the district does not comment on pending litigation.
One of the new cases claims that Principal Samantha Webb, former Assistant Principal Rebecca Britto and other school officials had knowledge of Mercado’s inappropriate behavior as early as spring 2021 but failed to conduct a Title IX investigation or contact any necessary authorities.
According to the complaint, a former employee told Britto that Mercado admitted to taking a student to a movie theater and invited the student back to dinner at his house in 2021.
The same claim states Mercado encouraged students to call him inappropriate nicknames. He would also often hug students, the claim continues.
“Boundary violations include inappropriate physical contact, off-campus interactions with students and encouraging familial nicknames such as ‘Daddy’ or ‘Abuelo,’” the complaint states.
School ignored early warnings, lawsuit claims
The complaint goes on to claim that other teachers close to Mercado brushed off the allegations of inappropriate familial names.
“Despite this, other teachers at the school, who were very friendly with Rodriguez, justified his boundary violations as cultural and failed to investigate further,” the claim states. “The School Board’s failure to train staff on appropriate boundaries allowed teachers to dismiss Rodriguez’s violations as cultural, enabling his continued misconduct.”
The original allegations stemmed from incidents reported by former elementary school students, John and Jane Doe, who were between 7 and 9 years old at the time. According to the new complaint, the family has since relocated out of state “due to the trauma caused by the incidents.”
The plaintiff in this new action is the same as in the 2024 civil case that first alleged the school district knew of previous incidents involving Mercado’s inappropriate behavior. Attorney Krisel McSweeney represents two victims and their mother, identified in the lawsuit as John Doe, Jane Doe and Mother Doe.
The 2024 claim states that, around April 2023, another student’s parent notified Webb that Mercado had placed the child on his lap. Webb allegedly did not conduct a formal investigation into the claim when the parent spoke up.
“The same day, the parent received a call after her report from an unknown school employee, acting on behalf of the School Board, stating it was a misunderstanding, reflecting the School Board’s custom of dismissing complaints without investigation,” the suit claims.
This lawsuit claimed that the school district was aware of previous incidents involving Mercado before the incidents with John and Jane Doe.
When the mother, identified as Mother Doe, learned about the abuse her children experienced in 2023, she told Webb. The suit claims Webb admitted there was a previous complaint against Mercado, but it was believed he treated students like “he was their grandfather.”
Overall, McSweeney said the case alleges that the school district failed to respond to red flags in Mercado’s behavior before the events that occurred in 2023.
“When we send our children to school, we’re expecting them to be safe in a learning environment, and that wasn’t the case here,” McSweeney said. “This mother, as an individual and on behalf of her two kids, they deserve justice.”
McSweeney’s clients could seek over $200,000 in damages due to the case’s Title IX allegations. Title IX protections are federal civil rights laws that prohibit sex-based discrimination and require schools to provide a harassment-free and safe environment.
Allegations stack against the School District of Manatee County
Another case, filed on June 20, involves another child’s allegation of sexual abuse by Mercado at Abel Elementary and is another claim that the school district was neglectful in how it handled Mercado’s behavior.
The case claims Mercado lured the child, referred to as “J.C.F.R.,” into his office almost daily between February and November 2023. The complaint states Mercado would inappropriately touch the victim, told the victim it was their secret and would offer candy as a reward.
“As a result of and due to the continued distress and psychological impact of the events, J.C.F.R. was forced to transfer classes,” the complaint states.
The civil suit accuses the School District of Manatee County of violating the Title IX regulations, negligence in failing to provide a safe environment, negligence, negligent hiring, negligent retention and potential damages for care and treatment of a minor.
It outlines claims that the school district did not investigate allegations against Mercado, did not report the sexual assaults to the Florida Department of Children and Families and did not conduct a proper background check on Mercado before he was hired.
“At the time (Mercado) was hired, he had a history of abusing children that either was not discovered due to Defendant’s lack of diligence or was discovered and ignored or dismissed,” the complaint claims.
Elizete Velado with Sarasota-based firm Mallard Perez, PLLC, is representing the plaintiffs in the second suit against the School District of Manatee County.
Mercado’s background in Manatee County schools
In November 2023, deputies arrested Mercado and charged him with molesting a student at Abel Elementary School. An investigation began after a student told a relative about the alleged molestation.
He is charged with lewd and lascivious molestation of a minor under the age of 12, which is classified as a “life felony” and could result in a punishment of 25 years to life in prison. Court records show Mercado was set to go to trial in June, but the trial has been rescheduled.
Mercado started working for the School District of Manatee County as a custodian at Daughtrey Elementary School in 2016. He then started as a paraprofessional at Palm View K-8 School in Palmetto in 2017 and became an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) paraprofessional at Palm View in 2018.
Mercado went on to work as an ESOL paraprofessional at Abel Elementary from 2019 to 2023.
This story was originally published June 27, 2025 at 5:50 AM.
