‘Inappropriate’: 13-Year-Old Florida Student Sent to Office for Misbehaving — Ends Up Rubbing Assistant Principal’s Feet ‘Like He Loves Her’ to be Humbled. Now She’s Arrested and On Leave
An assistant principal at a Florida middle school has been charged with lewd and lascivious conduct after she allegedly forced a misbehaving student to rub her feet, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a press release.
Dr. Keiva Lark, 53, assistant principal at Lake Marion Creek Middle School in Poinciana, located just south of Orlando, was arrested after the principal of their school reported the incident to the sheriff’s office on April 4.
The victim is a 13-year-old male student who had been sent to Lark’s office after throwing a balled-up piece of paper across the classroom during a test.
Once there, Lark told him since he didn’t have anything better to do with his hands he should rub her feet, the boy and two other witnesses told sheriff’s investigators. Lark then allegedly removed her shoes and draped her legs across the youth’s lap.
As he began rubbing her feet, Lark reprimanded him for not doing it correctly, demonstrating the correct way on the boy’s arm and shoulder. She was overheard by a coworker instructing the teen to “rub her feet like he loved her.”
The other witness told investigators she heard Lark tell the boy he should learn how to rub feet the correct way “so he would know what foreplay is for when he gets a girlfriend.”
According to the student, this wasn’t the first time Lark had made inappropriate comments to him. He told deputies she has called him “Sexy Chocolate” in the hallways of the school.
“Dr. Lark initially told detectives that this was only a joke, and that she was just trying to humble the victim,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. “It’s completely inappropriate for a 53-year old woman to act and talk like this to a middle school boy. It’s even worse given that this was an assistant principal and her student.”
Before her arrest, Lark told one of the witnesses that the foot rub “crossed the line.” To authorities, she eventually acknowledged that, considering her role as an educator, her actions were inappropriate, though she did not believe she said anything untoward to the boy.
Lark was placed on administrative leave after the Polk County School Board and the Florida Department of Children and Families were notified of her arrest
“This is abhorrent behavior for anyone who works among students, especially an administrator,” Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Frederick Heid said. “This person no longer has any business being around children. We commend the school principal for immediately reporting this incident, so we could take action and work with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office to protect students.”
Commenters on the Fox News website, where the story was published, wondered if this was the first time Lark had preyed on children.
“Have to wonder how many times she has done this…cannot be the first,” wrote one reader.
Added another, “It was the start to grooming the student, but she got caught.”
Lark is charged with lewd/lascivious conduct and lewd offense against a student by an authority figure, both felonies.