A fourth-grade teacher was sentenced to a year of probation after a video caught him trading candy for kisses with a 10-year-old student.
The Palm Beach Post reported that Brian Kornbluth, 29, pleaded guilty to battery on Tuesday in connection with the February incident. The boy’s sister told police that she and her brother went to Kornbluth’s classroom and the 29-year-old kissed both of them on the lips.
Surveillance cameras caught the Boca Raton teacher kissing a 10-year-old boy. He admitted to kissing the boy but denied kissing his sister, according to an arrest report.
The 13-second video shows the fifth-grader standing at Kornbluth’s desk then leaning in for a hug and a kiss and walking off.
The principal of Somerset Academy told police that another teacher told him about Kornbluth requesting certain students be moved to his class, WPLG reported. Following the weird requests, the principal repositioned a camera to record Kornbluth’s desk.
“Understandably, many folks have been asking about why we released a video in the ‘teacher-student kissing case.’ The short answer is because the media asked for it and we have to release it,” Boca Police Chief Dan Alexander wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
“So, the video didn’t simply ‘surface.’ We didn’t just put it out there to spice up your Tuesday. Some folks in the media think it is important for you to see it, so we follow the law to the best of our ability. Please direct your feedback to the appropriate media outlets. Thank you.”
Though Kornbluth no longer works for the charter school, his attorney said he is allowed to teach while on probation. The New York Daily News reported that he was also ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation and to stay away from the student in question.
Prosecutors dropped a second battery charge related to the girl’s accusations. The defendant’s attorney, Kristine Rosendahl, said last week that she plans to ask Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Marni Bryson to throw out the charge altogether due to lack of evidence, according to the Post.
Judge Bryson agreed to withhold the 29-year-old’s guilty plea, meaning he could have his record expunged in the future.
[Featured Image: Boca Raton Police]
