Bond stays the same for middle school employee charged with getting student pregnant

Bail set Friday on charges the graduation enhancement technician at Lincoln Middle School impregnated a student will stand after supplemental paperwork was filed over the weekend confirming the age of the victim.

Lamont Houston, 31, was arrested Thursday and charged with sexual battery of a child between ages 12 and 18, lewd and lascivious molestation of a child between the ages 12 and 16, and child abuse for someone 21 years or older impregnating a child under the age of 16. Houston also worked as the junior varsity basketball coach at Palmetto High School.

On Friday, Circuit Judge Edward Nicholas did not find there was probable cause to charge Houston with sexual battery, but did find probable cause for the lesser included offense of lewd and lascivious molestation. He set Houston’s bonds at a total of $55,000 and ordered him into the supervised release program with one of the conditions being that he have no contact with the child.

Nicholas also wanted the State Attorney’s Office to file supplemental paperwork stating the girl’s age, after defense attorney Colleen Glenn argued there was insufficient probable cause given that the report referred to the girl as a student at the middle school but did not specify her age. Nicholas said Houston was to appear back in court Monday if he did not post bond over the weekend.

Updated paperwork filed during the weekend states the girl is 14, which Palmetto Police Chief Scott Tyler also said Friday.

Houston appeared in court again Monday via video conference.

“I’m going to leave the bond that Judge (Edward) Nicholas set,” Circuit Judge Deno Economou said Monday.

Aggravating factors given in the arrest report were taken into account, Nicholas said Friday, leading him to set bonds higher than the standard bond for lewd and lascivious molestation. Houston did not make bond over the weekend.

The girl revealed to her mother that she had had sex with Houston after she realized she was pregnant, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Tyler said his department was notified Thursday morning after the school learned of the situation.

Houston began a “casual relationship” with the girl in May, while she was in eighth grade at Lincoln, and the two began exchanging text messages and SnapChats — a social media app where users can send pictures to one another that disappear after a short amount of time, according to the report.

In June, Houston picked the girl up one day without the girl’s parents’ permission or knowledge. Houston and the girl had sex in his car in a dimly lit, secluded parking lot in Palmetto during the encounter, police reported.

Two weeks, Houston picked up the girl, and the two drove around before he pulled into the same parking lotand they again had sex in his car, according to the report.

Houston has always lived in Manatee County, and lettered in basketball during his four years as a student at Southeast High School, Glenn said. Members of his family stood quietly in court on Friday, but did not appear in the courtroom on his behalf Monday.

The school district was notified of the arrest on Thursday, general counsel Mitchell Teitelbaum said in a statement. On Friday, Houston resigned his position. Although Houston resigned, Teitelbaum said the district will be seeking termination proceedings against Houston.

Lincoln parents were informed of the arrest Thursday night through a call home from Principal Eddie Hundley, telling parents he wanted to provide them “accurate information about a serious matter involving our school.” The robo call did not name the staff member or the charges he was facing. The recorded message told parents the school would keep them updated.

Houston was hired at Lincoln in September 2014 as a teacher’s assistant, according to the district. The district’s salary database for that year states Houston earned $20,535. He became a graduation enhancement technician the following year, a move that increased his salary to $38,012, according to the district database.

The graduation enhancement technician position in the school district was created for the start of the 2015-16 academic year, as part of the district’s involvement with the campaign for grade-level reading. The technicians, called GETs, are charged with helping to identify and solve chronic absenteeism.

The GETS are “responsible for resolving problems that interfere with student progress and achievement including excessive absenteeism, lack of health/personal care, homelessness, and limited parent engagement,” states the school district’s description for the job.

This story was originally published September 26, 2016 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Bond stays the same for middle school employee charged with getting student pregnant."