A now-former school safety officer accused of inappropriately touching a teenager was arrested Tuesday by the Atlantic Beach Police Department on multiple charges, according to authorities.
Shaun Lorenzo Golphin, 42, was booked into the Duval County jail on one felony count of lewd and lascivious battery — encouraging or enticing a person under the age of 16 to engage in any type of sexual activity, one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a child, and one misdemeanor count of battery, according to online jail records.
As of Wednesday, he remained behind bars, jail records show.
According to the arrest report, a 14-year-old girl and her mother were at Golphin’s house last weekend, and the teen’s mother said she was informed of Golphin inappropriately touching her daughter.
A Duval County Public Schools spokesperson said that Golphin has been a school safety officer since Aug. 9, 2011, his original day of employment with the district, and that he was most recently assigned to Fletcher High School.
“That is very concerning and shocking,” said Lara Reiss, a parent of a student. “As a parent, it concerns me.”
According to the school district, Golphin has resigned from his job, and the Duval County School Police Department Chief has recovered his badge and firearm.
“Our job is to protect the public, and it is tremendously disappointing to learn of allegations that a member of our force may have caused harm to a child,” Burton said. “The alleged behaviors fall well short of the high standards of conduct we have for our officers.”
ABPD, along with the State Attorney’s Office, are investigating.
“We stand by our law enforcement partners in our city and are working together to ensure a thorough investigation,” the DCPS spokesperson said.
News4JAX stopped by Golphin’s listed address, where no one answered the door. We spoke with Lyle Reimann, a friend and neighbor of Golphin who couldn’t believe the news.
“It’s a surprise,” Reimann said. “We’ll let it play out. I can’t see Shaun doing anything like that.”
The school district encourages anyone with information that may assist in the investigation to call the ABPD at 904-247-5859.