PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A Providence school teacher is in a Florida jail on accusations that he took a teenage former student to Miami Beach this week without parental permission.
David Jones, 56, was charged by Miami Beach police Thursday with "interference with custody," a third-degree felony in Florida that makes it a crime for someone to take or entice "any minor or any incompetent person" from custody of parents, guardians, or a public agency in charge of the child's care.
Jones appeared in Miami-Dade Court Thursday and ordered held on $9,000 bond, said J. Francois, a clerk at the Miami-Dade jail. She said Friday morning that Jones was still at the jail.
The Providence schools are on vacation this week. The Providence Schools Department said in a statement that it learned about the teacher's arrest in "a situation involving that teacher's former student." The department immediately placed the teacher on leave and will launch its own internal investigation, "in concert with law enforcement," the statement said. With reports from staff writer Linda Borg
Updated February 22, 2013 12:08 PM
Mayor Taveras issued the following statement Friday afternoon: “As a parent and as the Mayor of Providence, there is no higher priority for me than the safety and well-being of our children. I am very concerned about the arrest in Florida of a Providence teacher. The Providence School Department has placed the teacher on administrative leave and the Providence Police are working with the FBI and Florida law enforcement officials to investigate the matter.”
Updated February 22, 2013 4:50 PM