Former Manatee teacher ‘continuously’ harassed student, arrest report says

An arrest record sheds more light on how a former Manatee County elementary school teacher allegedly harassed an 11-year-old student for months before his behavior came under scrutiny.

On Monday, deputies arrested former B.D. Gullett Elementary School teacher Jarrett Williams, 35, and charged him with aggravated stalking of a child under 16 years old.

The arrest report details multiple incidents where Williams allegedly singled out the student with inappropriate treatment that left her feeling “upset,” “uncomfortable” and “embarrassed,” according to her interviews with Manatee County Sheriff’s Office investigators.

Evidence leading to Williams’ arrest included interviews with the student and her classmates and an inappropriate letter Williams allegedly wrote to the victim, according to the arrest report.

The arrest comes months after prosecutors previously declined to press charges against Williams. In a September memo, the State Attorney’s Office for the 12th Judicial Circuit wrote to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office:

“While the defendant’s actions may have been inappropriate, the State cannot prove that they rise to the level of criminal conduct. Therefore, prosecution is declined.”

Former teacher arrested in student stalking case, deputies say

School officials began investigating misconduct allegations against Williams in March. The case drew public attention when the victim’s mother, Ann Mitchell, addressed the school board a public meeting in April and criticized the district’s handling of the investigation. The victim’s family also criticized the school board’s decision to allow Williams to resign amid the ongoing investigation rather than terminating his employment.

The district’s investigation found that Williams had violated multiple district policies. Williams now faces a third-degree felony charge, which carries a possible prison sentence of up to five years.

In a previous statement to the Bradenton Herald, Williams denied the allegations against him.

“I didn’t do what I was accused of,” he said at the time.

Arrest report details teacher’s alleged student harassment

Detectives allege that Williams “continuously” harassed and acted inappropriately toward the fifth-grade student over a period of several months, from the beginning of the 2024 school year until officials removed him from the classroom in March.

New incidents of the former teacher’s alleged harassment documented in the arrest report include:

• Williams allegedly had another student record videos of him ripping up objects with the victim’s name on them while she was absent from class. The videos were later shared in a class group chat, the arrest report says.
• Williams allegedly took photos of the victim during P.E. class and later showed her friends “to embarrass her.” The victim said this made her feel “upset and uncomfortable,” according to the arrest report.
• Williams allegedly singled the victim out by placing her desk alone in the hallway while she was absent from class. When the victim moved her desk back into the classroom, it upset Williams, who then placed her desk facing a wall looking away from other students, the arrest report says.
• Williams allegedly drew an “embarrassing picture” of the victim and displayed it in the classroom, refusing to take it down at the victim’s request.
• Williams allegedly teased the victim about a “crush” on a student in another class. He wrote the victim a note impersonating the student in the other class and also created an animated video featuring the faces of the victim and the other student, which he played for the entire class, the report says.
• Ahead of a writing assessment, Williams allegedly wrote encouraging messages on post-it notes to individual students, but wrote to the victim: “Ew, least favorite student.”
• Williams frequently opened his grade book in front of the entire class and changed the victim’s grade for “behavior,” the report says.
• Williams allegedly created a favorite students list and placed the victim at the bottom.
• The victim told investigators that Williams was emotionally manipulative and would randomly ignore or act “mean” toward her, sometimes refusing to help her with classwork.

Former Manatee County teacher faces criminal charge

Jail records show that Williams was released on bond on Monday.

A judge has ordered that Williams have no contact with minors for the duration of his criminal case.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Feb. 6, according to court records.

Accusations against Williams became a focal point of a joint investigation by the Bradenton Herald and Suncoast Searchlight, which reported missed warning signs, weak follow-through and communication failures in how the School District of Manatee County handled a series of recent teacher misconduct cases.