Brittiny Lopez-Murray is a Florida middle school drama teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with one of her former students. She was arrested after the teen’s sister found incriminating text messages on his phone and alerted their parents, WPLG-TV reported.
Lopez-Murray, 31, worked at Hialeah Middle School in Miami-Dade County. She’s now facing more than two dozen charges and has been released on bond. According to the Miami-Dade County Clerk of the Courts website, Lopez-Murray’s arraignment hearing was scheduled for November 3, 2021.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Boy Told Police He & Lopez-Murray Had Sex In Her Car Multiple Times
The boy, who has not been named due to his age, told Hialeah police officers that Lopez-Murray instigated the alleged relationship. According to a police report cited by the Miami Herald, the teen says Lopez-Murray “expressed her feelings” for him in a text message in August 2021.
He says he met up with Lopez-Murray for coffee after that initial text. He claims the relationship escalated into a physical one and that they had sex in her car multiple times in various parking lots. The teen said Lopez-Murray picked him up from basketball practice several times and that they would engage in sexual activities after that.
NBC Miami reports the teenage boy is 14 and now in high school. According to the police report, Lopez-Murray taught the teen when he was a student at Hialeah Middle School.
2. The Teen’s Parents Called the Police After Seeing Sexual Messages From Lopez-Murray on His Phone, Police Say
The teen’s sister was the first person to discover something was going on. NBC Miami, citing police, reports the teen’s sister became “suspicious” by how her brother was acting and decided to look at his phone. Police say she found “explicit text messages and photos” that Lopez-Murray and the boy had exchanged.
She showed their parents. According to the Miami Herald, the teen’s father reported seeing naked photos of Lopez-Murray on his son’s phone. The texts also included messages about “how much they enjoyed the sex with each other.”
The teen’s parents called the police, WPLG-TV reports.
3. Lopez-Murray Is Facing Multiple Felonies
VineLinkMiddle school teacher Brittiny Lopez-Murray is accused of sexually assaulting a former student.
Lopez-Murray is facing more than two dozen felony charges in Miami-Dade County. Court records show the charges include lewd and lascivious sexual battery, lewd and lascivious molestation, engaging in a sexual act with a familial child, traveling to meet a minor, unlawful use of a communications device and offenses against students by authority figures.
Inmate records show Lopez-Murray was arrested on October 4. She posted a surety bond the following day and was released, according to the Miami-Dade County Clerk of Courts website.
4. Hialeah Middle School Named Lopez-Murray the Rookie Teacher of the Year in 2017
Florida Department of EducationBrittiny Lopez-Murray was a teacher at Hialeah Middle School.
Lopez-Murray has been working at Hialeah Middle School since 2017. Her peers honored her as the “Rookie Teacher of the Year” in November 2017, according to CBS Miami. The TV station cited a tweet posted by the school that has since been deleted.
As of October 6, Lopez-Murray was still listed as the drama teacher on the faculty page of the school’s website.
Hialeah Middle SchoolBrittiny Lopez-Murray was the drama teacher at Hialeah Middle School before her arrest.
But school officials confirmed to WPLG-TV that Lopez-Murray will be fired because of her arrest and will be prohibited from working in the district in the future.
The Miami-Dade school district said in a prepared statement, shared by the Miami Herald, that it was “saddened and disappointed over these serious allegations given that the District takes great measures to ensure our students are educated in safe learning environments. All employees receive training and are expected to abide by the District’s Standards of Ethical Conduct policy. It is unfortunate that despite our efforts, the actions of some individuals run contrary to the behavior that is expected of them.”
According to the Florida Department of Education, Lopez-Murray had renewed her teaching certification in 2019. Her current license was scheduled to expire in June 2024.
5. Lopez-Murray Has Been Married Since 2015
Miami-Dade County Clerk of the CourtsMiddle school teacher Brittiny Lopez-Murray, accused of having an affair with a student, has been married since 2015.
Lopez-Murray is currently married. According to a search of the Miami-Dade County Clerk of the Courts website, Lopez-Murray and her husband applied for a marriage license and got married in April 2015. The record notes that Lopez-Murray is a Florida native and that her husband was born in England.
A search of Miami-Dade property records shows Lopez-Murray lives a few miles from Hialeah Middle School. The couple bought their home in 2018.
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