JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Westside High School staff member accused of having sexual conduct with a student appeared in court Wednesday for arraignment.
A not guilty plea was entered by Julie Rodeheaver’s lawyer on her behalf.
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This comes after the state attorney’s office filed amended charges against Rodeheaver of lewd and lascivious battery on a disabled adult and offenses against a student by a person of authority.
On Wednesday, Rodeheaver’s lawyer told the judge that he was in the process of setting up a mental competency evaluation for her.
In the motion, her lawyer says, Rodeheaver is intellectually disabled, doesn’t appreciate the nature of the charges against her and can’t help in her own defense.
Her next court date is in April.
According to both the arrest report and a message that Duval County Public Schools sent to parents, Rodeheaver was a paraprofessional. Paraprofessionals are by definition a teacher’s assistant or an educational worker that is not licensed to teach but performs teaching-related tasks in support of a certified education professional.