Middle school teacher arrested in February for ‘having sex with 15-year-old student in her Florida classroom’ is arrested AGAIN for ‘sleeping with a minor in another county’
- Hayley Close-Hallmark, 35, allegedly began a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student in August 2018, which lasted for two years
- She was arrested in February on three charges stemming from the allegations
- The two new charges stem from an incident that took place in a different county
- There was allegedly a sexual encounter between Close-Hallmark and her victim during a team dance event in Osceola County
- Close-Hallmark previously pleaded not guilty to the three February charges
A middle school teacher in Florida already facing charges for having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student is now facing additional charges because of an incident in another county.
The most recent mugshot for Hayley Close-Hallmark, facing two new charges for an alleged sexual relationship with a student
The new charges come as a result of an alleged sexual encounter that took place in another Florida county.
Hayley Close-Hallmark, 35, was issued an arrest warrant by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office on April 2 and was arrested on April 13.
Close-Hallmark is a history teacher and coach at Ruckel Middle School, located in Niceville, Florida.
According to Northwest Florida Daily News, Close-Hallmark was charged with single counts of lewd and lascivious battery against a child aged between 12-16 and sexual assault on a minor in March.
Those charges are the result of Close-Hallmark and her alleged female victim – who has not been named – having a sexual encounter while attending a school dance competition, involving a team coached by Close-Hallmark, in Osceola County.
The previous charges against Close-Hallmark came because of alleged sexual encounters in Okaloosa County.
Close-Hallmark is currently suspended without pay from her job at Ruckel Middle School
Close-Hallmark was facing the same charges in Okaloosa County, as well as a charge of soliciting or engaging in lewd conduct with a student from a position of authority.
Close-Hallmark was arrested on those charges in February. She has previously pleaded not guilty to those three charges.
She has been suspended from her teaching job without pay, pending the results of the case against her.
WEAR-TV reports that Close-Hallmark is being held without bond at the Okaloosa County Jail.
It’s not clear when the team dance event took place, but the timeframe of the incidents that spawned the charges in both Okaloosa County and Osceola County matched up, according to the prosecutor.
Close-Hallmark’s mugshot from February, when she was arrested for the alleged relationship
Close-Hallmark allegedly had ‘numerous’ sexual encounters with her victim when she was helping Close-Hallmark coach the school’s girls soccer team. The victim was in the ninth grade at the time.
They allegedly texted one another during the 2017-18 school year, which evolved into sexting one another.
When the victim moved to the high school in August 2018, the relationship allegedly became physical.
Sexual encounters allegedly occurred in Close-Hallmark’s classroom, as well as at the homes of both Close-Hallmark and the victim.
Close-Hallmark allegedly had a sexual relationship with a female student for two years
The relationship allegedly continued for two years before coming to an end in August 2020, when the victim was 17 years old.
Investigators looked at inappropriate text messages and Snapchat exchanges on the victim’s phone when looking into the case.
The Associated Press reported in February that the victim told a high school teacher about the relationship, which the teacher proceeded to report to a school resource officer.
At a previous stop in her career, Close-Hallmark was named Escambia County’s social studies teacher of the year.
Close-Hallmark has a pre-trial conference scheduled for June 14.
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