Farnell Middle teacher accused of making sexual advances to student

A teacher at Farnell Middle School was arrested today, accused of trying to force a 14-year-old student to have sex with her.

Tammy Renee Clinton, 39, 15613 Eastbourn Drive, Odessa, has been charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation and two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.

Investigators say that last month, Clinton forced the 14-year-old boy to touch her breasts. She also touched his buttocks, deputies said.

Clinton tried twice to entice the boy to meet her away from school grounds to have sex with him, investigators said. The most recent incident happened today, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.

The teen confided to a teacher Tuesday at the end of the school day, said school district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe. The teacher told the school's administration and the sheriff's office was contacted.

The teacher wasn't removed from the class as the sheriff's office investigated the case, Cobbe said. Clinton, a sixth-grade geography teacher, is not the victim's teacher. The teenager is an eighth-grader, Cobbe said.

"We did not want to impede their investigation," Cobbe said.

Clinton was booked at Orient Road Jail. After being read her Miranda rights, she admitted to the offenses, the sheriff's office said.

"It's extremely unfortunate," Cobbe said. "It doesn't reflect on the vast majority of our teachers, and we don't tolerate it."

Clinton joined the school district as a teacher in August 2002. She has always taught at Farnell Middle and annually received satisfactory evaluations, Cobbe said. She has never been reprimanded or investigated, she said.

Clinton, who is certified to teach social studies, teaches about five periods a day and has about 22 students per class, she said. The school has a total of 1,200 students.

The school's principal was going to call all the parents this evening and make them aware of the incident through an automated message, Cobbe said.

"It's not something we tolerate," Cobbe said. "We want our schools to be safe, and this is not reflective of our hardworking teachers."

School district officials said that she has been suspended with pay. Standard practice is to send a letter that states that she can't return to the school. The school board could vote to suspend her without pay, said Steve Hegarty, a school district spokesman.

Bail has been set at $30,000, according to the sheriff's office Web site.