Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Teacher arrested for sending sexually explicit messages to a teenager she met through Xbox

Conversations 'slowly progressed to extremely vulgar with sexually explicit language', police say

Samuel Osborne
Wednesday 20 December 2017 07:25 EST
Comments
Florida teacher Robin Dunlap arrested for sending sexually explicit message to boy she met on Xbox Live

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A teacher has been arrested for sending sexually explicit messages to a 15-year-old boy she met over Xbox One.

Robin Dunlap, 27, continued to exchange sexual messages with the boy even after learning his age, police said.

The boy, from Texas, presented himself as a 19-year-old throughout conversations with the science teacher, who worked at Haines City High School in Florida.

Their conversations moved to instant messenger and video calls.

When the mother of the victim checked her son's phone, she contacted Dunlap to inform the teacher her son was 15, not 19.

Dunlap voluntarily turned herself in to police and admitted she had sent nude photos to the boy before learning his real age.

"But it didn't stop there," the press release from Winter Haven police said.

Robin Dunlap continued to exchange sexual messages with the boy even after learning his age
Robin Dunlap continued to exchange sexual messages with the boy even after learning his age (Winter Haven Police)

Dunlap continued to contact the boy through Google Hangouts and would later tell police the teenager was the only person who understood her.

The teacher gave police access to her phone, where they found conversations which "slowly to extremely vulgar with sexually explicit language," according to the release.

“There is absolutely no excuse for an adult – especially a high school teacher – to continue sexually explicit conversations with a 15 year-old long after his real age is revealed,” Winter Haven Police Chief Charlie Bird said.

“The vulnerable age of this victim and the fact that this woman took advantage of him for her own personal needs is inexcusable.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in