A Hillsborough County high school teacher has been arrested after allegedly having a sexual relationship with a student.
According to Hillsborough Co. Sheriff's spokesperson Larry McKinnon, King High School teacher Jeffrey Halle Jr., 32, of Plant City, was arrested Monday afternoon and will be booked into the Hillsborough County Jail.
Halle allegedly had sexual contact with a 17-year-old female student in a vacant classroom while at King High School located at 6815 N. 56th Street in Tampa.
The sexual relationship allegedly spanned from the middle of March through July 12. McKinnon said the relationship developed as the student was enrolled in an after school program that Halle supervised. Halle and the student allegedly made arrangements to meet in a vacant classroom during the after school program.
Halle made further arrangements with the victim via text messages to meet with her at her family's Hillsborough Co. home to continue the sexual relationship. When Halle arrived to pick up the victim, he was confronted by the victim's father, McKinnon said, and he left the residence.
The girl's parents notified the HCSO. The parents of the victim knew Halle was their daughter's teacher and that he was responsible for her during the after school program, according to McKinnon.
Following an investigation, detectives arrested Halle at the HCSO Criminal Investigation Division. He will be booked into the Hillsborough County Orient Road Jail on charges of sexual battery, traveling to meet a minor and prohibited use of computer services or devices.