Donny Raney was a high school pastor and the middle school soccer coach. He was also the pastor of Okeechobee Missionary Baptist Church. He was arrested and charged with being an “authority figure engaging in a romantic relationship with a student.”
A student’s mother was transferring her daughter’s phone data to a new phone when she came across texts between a cross county team coach Omar Ayala and her daughter.
Her daughter was eighteen. While interviewing the girl, they learned that she also had a relationship with Raney after the relationship with Ayala ended. She was eighteen but he was an authority figure for her which made it criminal.
The other teacher Omar Ayala, who is not registered to vote, was removed from coaching girls, told not to have girls in his classroom during lunch, and was barred from communicating with the student in 2020 when this same mother voiced concerns about their relationship. I’ve no idea why there was no criminal case then.
At first, Ayala was not arrested because they believed she was eighteen during their entire relationship, but they found evidence it began when she was underage, so a warrant was issued. However, he fled the country. He was tipped off by a Sheriff’s Deputy who is facing several charges.
- CBS12: High school pastor accused of being in romantic relationship with student in Okeechobee
- WFTL: High school pastor arrested for an inappropriate relationship with student
- News9: Teacher accused of having sexual relation with teen, deputy helped him get away
