Southwest Miami-Dade Teacher Arrested by School Police for Inappropriate Behavior

SOUTHWEST OF MIAMI-DADE, Florida. – A professor of social studies at a high school in southwest Miami-Dade is accused of having a loving relationship with a student, which led to his arrest and dismissal by the school district.

The Miami-Dade Schools Police Department arrested Rafael Birriel, 39, a teacher at Coral Reef High School after an investigation into inappropriate behavior, which involved a student.

The school district said Birriel had no other problems in his 13 years of employment at Miami-Dade Public Schools.

The charge was brought against Birriel last March, when the victim told police that over a period of one year she was involved with the professor and that he “was physically on one occasion”. The victim’s age is not identified in the arrest report.

The victim told police that most of the conversations he had with the teacher were through the Discord messaging app.

The police obtained copies of the conversations in which the two were involved. Through the messages, Birriel tried to persuade the girl to send erotic, nude and sassy photos of herself. A conversation also told of a meeting at the school in which Birriel kissed the student and grabbed her buttocks over her clothes after kissing her.

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Throughout the year, the police said that Birriel told the girl that she loved her, as well as her sexual attraction and intentions towards her.

The school district sent Local 10 News a statement about the charges.

“This is a serious matter that is not taken lightly. As soon as the allegations were reported, the employee was removed from the school and the M-DSPD initiated an investigation. As a result of the arrest, the individual’s employment will be terminated and he will be prevented from seeking future work in the district. “

Birriel was arrested on Monday and released from prison. He is awaiting trial, where he faces 2 criminal charges for crimes committed against a student by an authority figure and forbidden computer use.