JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — An arrest warrant is revealing new details in what led to the Wednesday arrest of a Douglas Anderson School of the Arts teacher accused of “lewd and lascivious conduct involving a student.”
Jeffrey Clayton, 65, is in the Duval County Jail on charges of authority figure solicits or engages in lewd conduct with a student and unlawful use of two-way communication device.
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The warrant states that the incident happened on Friday afternoon. The victim was dropped off at the school by a parent for a one-on-one singing lesson with Clayton in preparation for an upcoming performance.
The victim was sitting on a couch in Clayton’s office and he was sitting on a chair next to her.
“The teacher largely talked about his romantic and ‘intoxicating’ feelings he has for the student,” the warrant detailed.
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Clayton is alleged to have rubbed the student’s thighs with his hands and kissed her “multiple times with a closed mouth. He then kissed her multiple times with his mouth open and using his tongue,” according to the warrant.
With about 10 minutes left in their scheduled singing lesson, the warrant said Clayton “suddenly stood up and began” the lesson.
The victim told a friend what happened and law enforcement visited the victim’s home on Sunday. Duval County School Police met with the victim and her family on Tuesday afternoon and decided “that a recorded phone call would be made between the victim and the suspect,” the warrant said.
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The victim texted Clayton, asking him to call her, and the call lasted 30 minutes. The details of what Clayton said in the phone call are redacted from the warrant.
Police were also shown text messages from Clayton to the victim, showing Clayton making statements “such as ‘I feel freaking amazing! Wow!’”
Officers noted that there were 1,700 text messages between Clayton and the victim dating back to August 2022.
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Clayton was set to appear in court Thursday morning on the charges against him, but he did not. His bond for release is set at $125,006.
Duval County Public Schools said it is conducting a “comprehensive investigation of the matter in addition to our normal investigation regarding the arrested employee.”
DCPS is asking students, alumni, or others who might have information useful to the investigation are encouraged to email Dr. Tameiko Grant, head of the district’s professional standards office, at GrantT1@duvalschools.org.
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