Pines middle school band teacher accused of molesting student

By Rafael A. Olmeda and Kathy Bushouse | Sun-Sentinel.com

12:31 PM EDT, July 15, 2008

PEMBROKE PINES - A longtime Broward middle school teacher is facing molestation charges after detectives recorded him apologizing to the 14-year-old victim and professing his love for her, police said.

Russell Pittman, 46, of Sunrise, a band teacher at Pines Middle School, was arrested Monday and is charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation.

Police said he was a mentor at the school to the victim, whom he had taught for three years, and he was at her home in Pembroke Pines on July 2.

According to an arrest report, Pittman groped the victim over her shirt, then reached under it and started putting his fingers into her bra. When she resisted, he left, police said.

"The victim kept it to herself at first," said police spokesman Sgt. Bryan Davis.

Then she told friends.

"They convinced her to tell her mother, who then reported it to us," Davis said.

Detectives recorded two telephone calls between the victim and Pittman, according to the arrest report.

"[Pittman] continued to apologize to the victim for his actions and explained that he loved her," according to the report filed by Detective Victoria Hines.

After Pittman was informed of his rights, he told detectives that he "hugged the victim from behind and grabbed the victim's breast," according to the arrest report.

Pittman "admitted to the touch being inappropriate; however, he states that he stopped and removed his hand immediately," the report said.

Pittman was taken to the Broward main jail, where bond was set at $10,000 bail on each count.

Joe Melita, executive director of the school district's special investigative unit, said Pittman was immediately reassigned to administrative duty away from children.

He'll stay out of the classroom until the end of the police investigation, as well as the school district's own investigation, Melita said.

Melita said he hasn't heard of any improper behavior by Pittman at the school.

People at the school told district investigators that Pittman was "an outstanding teacher, really liked by the kids," Melita said.

"There were no red flags at any time," Melita said. "From what we understand, he was an outstanding member of the school and the community."

Pittman was hired by the school district in 1988 as a music teacher at Sheridan Park Elementary School in Hollywood, where he worked for a year, according to school district records.

In 1989, he moved to Boulevard Heights Elementary School in Hollywood, where he worked through the end of the 1994-1995 school year. He started at Pines Middle School in 1995.

Pittman has no prior arrest record, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Staff researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.