Boynton Beach physical education teacher accused of raping elementary school student; The teacher denied the allegations

Editor’s note: This story contains descriptions of child sexual abuse that readers may find disturbing.

WEST PALM BEACH — After school administrators returned to campus teacher accused of rapeThe young accuser sued the people responsible for hiring him in the first place.

In a federal lawsuit filed last month, the girl accused the Palm Beach County School Board of inviting danger into its hallways by hiring Dax Rankine, whose criminal record once caused the Florida Board of Education to reject his application for a teaching license.

The case revives rape allegations that the boy, now a ninth grader, first reported to school police in 2023.

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The girl was then and is now a physical education teacher at Sunset Palms Elementary School in the suburbs. Boynton BeachHe groomed and raped her between second and fourth grades. He said the abuse ended in 2020 after the spread of COVID-19 ended in-person classes.

Rankine, 47, started working at Sunset Palms in 2012. Rankine, who was cleared of crimes by school officials but was suspended from campus this month following a lawsuit, denied the allegations through his lawyer. The school district does not comment on open cases as a policy.

School officials found the allegations unfounded due to lack of evidence.

The student said in his lawsuit that he had known Rankine since kindergarten. Even then, she said, she found him “feisty,” often standing too close for comfort.

The child, identified in the lawsuit as Janie Doe, said Rankine began touching her breasts and inner thighs in second and third grade under the guise of helping her stretch during physical education class. Doe said the abuse escalated in fourth grade, when Rankine cornered her in campus bathrooms and raped her twice.

Both times, Doe said Rankine told him he would “get in trouble” if he told anyone what was going on. He first made the allegations during a therapy session in 2023, prompting an investigation by school and state officials.

No one has been able to verify his account, according to public records.

The school district placed Rankine on paid leave in November 2023 while it conducted a months-long investigation into the allegations. Rankine released a statement through his lawyers denying all wrongdoing but declined the school’s invitation for a voluntary interview.

Doe’s mother also turned down attempts by school inspectors to interview her daughter, according to emails in Rankine’s personnel file.

The mother said her daughter, who gave the same information to both police and an agent with the Florida Department of Children and Families, did not want to endure a third round of questioning.

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When she was informed that the school could not rely on interviews conducted by other institutions, the mother again refused.

“Are you saying that the school administration refused to investigate using her two previous statements?” the mother wrote in February. “Will this school board allow this pedophile to remain in contact with children?”

Rankine remained on paid leave while the school investigated the allegations without the involvement of either the accuser or the defendant. Sunset Palms manager Karen Riddle filed a sworn affidavit in April attesting to Rankine’s work ethic.

“He has always been a great teacher and is great at supervision,” he said. “I could always count on him. There were no problems.”

The school ruled the following month that Doe’s allegations were unfounded.

At the end of a separate investigation, school police recommended that Rankine be charged with sexual assault on a person under the age of 12; this was a felony for which offenders could be sentenced to death or life imprisonment. Prosecutors with the State Attorney’s Office refused to move forward with charges due to lack of evidence.

Yet in an email sent days after the lawsuit was filed, Sunset Palms’ principal told parents that Rankine had been suspended from campus and would not be returning.

Palm Beach County School Board accused of ignoring alleged abuser

Doe’s lawsuit accuses the Palm Beach County School Board of willfully ignoring Rankine’s criminal history, which includes arrests for a hit-and-run crash, simple battery, DUI and drug possession.

That history alone should have prevented the district from hiring Rankine, Doe’s attorney, Marc Wites, argued in the lawsuit. He initially blocked the state licensing board from approving Rankine’s application to teach, but Rankine successfully appealed his decision.

“The community of families and parents who have children at that school is deeply disappointed, not only that this teacher was at the school in the first place based on public records of prior arrests that made him ineligible to be a teacher, but also because our client came forward a year ago,” Wites said in a statement Monday. Then he said the school pulled him out of class.

Doe requested a trial by jury, and U.S. District Court Judge Robin Rosenberg will preside over the case. No hearing date has been set.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, Palm Beach County Victim Services and the Rape Crisis Center can help. You can reach the helpline at 561-833-7273 or toll-free at 866-891-7273.

Hannah Phillips covers criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at [email protected].. Help support our journalism and subscribe today.

This article was first published in the Palm Beach Post: Boynton Beach elementary school teacher accused of rape denies allegations