Florida Teacher Resigns Over Explicit Video Chats With Inmate Boyfriend While At Work

Franklin County, FL – A Florida schoolteacher with nearly 30 years on the job resigned earlier this week after a jailhouse investigation revealed she had been disrobing during explicit video chats with her inmate boyfriend while she was on the clock and on campus, according to police.

Although prosecutors concluded 52-year-old Donna Barber’s actions were not illegal, the Franklin County School District launched its own investigation after Franklin County Sheriff A.J. Smith released some of the footage earlier this month, the New York Post reported.

Some of the chats took place in Barber’s office during her workday, according to investigators.

“I think parents have a right to know who is teaching their children,” Sheriff Smith told the news outlet. “That’s why I released this.”

He said Barber was also well aware of the prison’s rules and that she had agreed to them before being allowed to video chat with the inmate, the New York Post reported.

Visitors are also notified that the chats “may be monitored or recorded by the incarcerated person’s correctional facility or by us…Conduct that is illegal or inappropriate in any way, including indecent exposure, will not be tolerated,” according to the sheriff.

“Jail is not a resort,” he told the New York Post. “People in jail need to abide by the rules, you have to have order. Otherwise, you can have chaos and it can be dangerous for the staff that has to deal with the inmates.”

Sheriff Smith said he released some of the footage on Facebook to help highlight his concerns regarding inappropriate correspondence between visitors and inmates, FOX News reported.

He ultimately had to take the video down due to inappropriate comments, according to the news outlet.

After discovering some of the calls between Barber and her inmate boyfriend were made while the longtime schoolteacher was on campus, the district conducted an internal investigation and determined the school board would recommend Barber be fired.

She opted to resign ahead of that recommendation being formalized, FOX News reported.

Sources said Barber was close to retirement.

She refused to comment on the situation, according to the New York Post.