By Hunter Geisel , Peter D'Oench Updated on: January 24, 2025 / 10:12 AM EST / CBS Miami MIAMI — A Miami-Dade County Public Schools security guard was arrested this week after he was accused of "grooming" a female student and having an inappropriate relationship with her. Johnathan Lee Coard, 35, was arrested Wednesday and appeared in bond court on Thursday, where he currently faces three charges: lewd and lascivious conduct on a child, contributing to the delinquency or dependency of a child, and offenses against students by an authority figure. In bond court, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy Glazer ordered Coard to stay away from the victim and Felix Varela Senior High School , saying, "You are to have no contact with the victim, either directly or indirectly or in person or in writing or through a 3rd party." Glazer found probable cause for the charges and gave Coard a public defender and set his bond at $16,000. In court, CBS News Miami learned that Coard had one prior arrest for a DUI in Monroe County. In a statement provided to CBS News Miami, MDCPS said it was "deeply troubled" by the "disturbing allegations," and that Coard was immediately removed from the school. "A thorough investigation was conducted by the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department, resulting in his arrest, subsequent termination of his employment and preclusion from seeking future employment with the District," MDCPS said. "Conduct such as the one this individual is accused of will not be tolerated." CBS News Miami spoke with 10th grader Andrea Rivera at the school with her mother's permission.  "This is crazy. I knew the guy. He was a security guard at my school. You should be careful who you talk to and who you are with and what you do with people," the student said. The investigation On Halloween 2024, police responded to Felix Varela Senior High School following reports of a security monitor being involved in an inappropriate relationship with a female juvenile student. Upon arrival, police met with the school's principal, who said that multiple students of his reported that the security guard, later identified as Coard, had been giving the victim "multiple rides home," the arrest documents said. During their last exchange in his vehicle, Coard had also allegedly kissed the student and made several sexual comments toward her. The students told the principal that she didn't want to report the incident because she knew she would "lose her ride him and get him into trouble," despite feeling uncomfortable and knowing the situation was wrong, the arrest documents said. Police spoke with the first student, who said that she was talking with a friend in class and asked her if she knew about Coard and that she told her that he was allegedly "friendly with the female students." She then started saying that one of her friends was telling her that there was one girl that has been "going home with the security guard every day on the low but things started to get weird" when Coard started telling her that "he would treat her better than her boyfriend" and ended up kissing her, the arrest documents said. However, the girl didn't want to speak out about the incident. Police then spoke with the second student, who said she was sitting with a group at lunch when the victim's friend started talking about the incident with Coard. According to that friend, Coard had been giving her rides home but took a different route this time around. The victim was confused but went along with it "because in school they are always talking," the arrest documents said. According to the arrest documents, the victim has a boyfriend, whom she always talks about with Coard. However, during their latest exchange, he started to say things like "You don't deserve to be treated like that," "I could treat you better" and "You're such a pretty girl to be treated like that." Coard then allegedly began to become flirtatious and kissed the victim. The second student told police that the victim began to feel uncomfortable but didn't want to overreact "just in case anything was to happen" and just asked to be driven home, the arrest documents said. The next day, the victim told her friend everything that had happened and shared with her some inappropriate text messages that Coard had allegedly sent her, including an apology for his behavior during their last drive. The third student shared the same story that the second student had told police, the arrest documents said. Police then spoke with the fourth student, who told police that Coard and the victim had started to become close because he would allegedly give her money for alcohol and "random stuff" like food and snacks, the arrest documents said. The student continued, saying that they she knew that Coard had allegedly given her cash and sent her money through apps like Zelle and CashApp. The fourth student told police that she didn't know about the car incident until the victim spoke up and said it made her uncomfortable. She continued, saying that the victim never said anything about Coard because "she didn't want to lose the benefits and perks he provided," the arrest documents said. Police then spoke with the victim, who said that Coard had allegedly "consistently through sexual hints at me and made me feel uncomfortable," and talked about choking her, wanting pictures and being intimate with her, the arrest documents said. The victim continued, saying that Coard had allegedly been offering her rides home but she only took him up twice on the officer, and it was on the second instance that the incident happened. After getting permission from the victim's father, police searched the victim's cellphone and found multiple phone and FaceTime calls between her and Coard ranging from only 11 seconds to 24 minutes, the arrest documents said. Police also found text messages that corroborated her and the other students' testimonies. From there, police determined that the victim had trusted and confided in Coard as an authority figure, used her "vulnerability as an opportunity to get close to her and groom her," the arrest documents said. On Wednesday, Coard was called into Miami-Dade Schools Police Headquarters, where he surrendered himself to the authorities. Upon arrival, he was read his Miranda rights and signed a Miranda waiver, but declined to speak with police before being taken to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/miami-dade-county-public-schools-security-guard-grooming-accused-inappropriate-relationship-female-student/

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A former security guard at a Miami-Dade high school had nothing to say to Local 10 News as he bonded out of the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center late Friday morning. Leer en español Johnathan Lee Coard, 35, was booked into TGK Wednesday after being accused of using his position to exploit a girl’s “vulnerability as an opportunity to get close to her and groom her.” Coard worked at Felix Varela Senior High School, at 15255 SW 96th St., in The Hammocks. Police said that “multiple students” went to the school’s principal in October out of concern for the victim, reporting that Coard had given the girl “multiple rides home,” kissed her and made sexually explicit comments. Police said the pair started communicating after the girl had confided in Coard about relationship issues. Authorities said he would also send the girl money for “food, snacks and random stuff.” Coard, facing felony charges of lewd and lascivious conduct on a child under 16, offenses against students by authority figures and a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency or dependency of a child, had been given a $16,000 bond Thursday. In a statement, a Miami-Dade Public Schools spokesperson said that the district is “deeply troubled by the disturbing allegations.” “As soon as the claims surfaced, the employee was immediately removed from the school setting. A thorough investigation was conducted by the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department, resulting in his arrest, subsequent termination of his employment and preclusion from seeking future employment with the District,” the statement read. “Conduct such as the one this individual is accused of will not be tolerated.” Source: https://www.local10.com/news/local/2025/01/24/ex-school-security-guard-accused-of-inappropriate-relationship-leaves-miami-dade-jail/

By Brandon Beyer , Olivia DiVenti , Kevin Boulandier , Tynisa Senior February 7, 2025 POMPANO BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A security guard at Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach was arrested for allegedly hitting a student. Ronald Thurston was arrested Thursday on aggravated child abuse and battery charges after he was accused of hitting a student while on school property. On Friday morning, Thurston appeared in court where a judge found probable cause. Parents and students were shocked to learn about the allegation, many of them saying his actions are contrary to what he’s supposed to be doing: ensuring the safety of all students. “He’s security, so he should not be putting his hands on these kids,” said a woman. “It’s a shame, because that’s what they have security guards for: to protect the kids, not to harm the kids,” said another woman. “They say he was beating on the kids. He was breaking up fights and stuff, but doing it way too aggressive,” said Nahla, a student. “His way of talking is aggressive. It’s like he wants to be calm, but something in him is kind of aggressive,” said student Bryan Sanchez. This is not Thurston’s first offense. As a former Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy, he was terminated after a use of excessive force against a man he was taking into custody back in April 2020. “Get on the ground, get on the ground,” said Thurston on body camera footage. After the incident, Broward Sherriff Gregory Tony wrote in part, “His actions show that he possesses neither the temperament nor the decision-making ability to wear a badge or carry a gun.” Nearly five years later, Thurston is facing trouble again for harming the very students he was hired to protect. “I’m scared,” said a woman. “That’s crazy, because that security guard used to be friendly with everyone, like everyone loved him. He was so cool!” said student Kanzah Rizbi. Broward County Public Schools confirmed that Thurston was a security guard and is being reassigned pending the outcome of the investigation. His new role will not allow him to have direct contact with students. Source: https://wsvn.com/news/local/broward/security-guard-at-blanche-ely-high-school-reassigned-after-being-arrested-for-allegedly-hitting-student/