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Bradford County School District employee faces child molestation charges

STARKE, Fla. – An arrest report obtained by News4Jax shows a 41-year-old employee of the Bradford County School District is charged with three counts of lewd and lascivious behavior.

The district confirmed Dustin Kelsay works as a paraprofessional at Southside Elementary School in Starke and that Kelsay is on administrative leave.

According to the arrest report, the allegations do not involve children at Southside Elementary.

Last week, Kelsey was recognized as “Terrific Support Employee” of the first quarter, according to a post on one of the school’s social media pages. The post has since been removed.

The investigation began in November 2019. According to the report, three girls told detectives Kelsay inappropriately touched them in their home four years prior. The children told detectives the incidents happened while Kelsay was drunk.

When questioned, the report states that Kelsay told detectives “that’s just not me” and “I don’t believe that it’s happened.”

Lauren Litton, a parent, said the allegations are disturbing.

“I hope that parents will just talk to their children because obviously you don’t know who can do something like this and you want your child to be safe and be aware," she said.

The school district said it was not able to go into details about the investigation, but that it is taking the allegations seriously.


About the Author

Corley Peel is a Texas native and Texas Tech graduate who covered big stories in Joplin, Missouri, Tulsa, Oklahoma and Jacksonville, Florida before returning to the Lone Star State. When not reporting, Corley enjoys hot yoga, Tech Football, and finding the best tacos in town.

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