OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – Two U.S. Army recruiters on Tuesday were charged with having sex with a student they met while recruiting at an Osceola County high school.
Investigators said Christopher Glenn Doner, 30, and John Back, 33, were sexually active with a 17-year-old student they met while recruiting at Harmony High School in the last several months.
Both Doner and Back work out of the Kissimmee field office and visit local high schools to recruit for the military, deputies said.
The investigation began in November when the victim's mother learned her daughter was sexually active with two adults, according to the report.
The teen told detectives she met Doner and Back earlier this year and began communicating with both of them. Doner and Back both asked her to stop the relationship with the other person, but she did not, deputies said. Investigators said both men are married and have children.
Local 6 stopped by Doner's home, but his family did not want to say anything about the allegations.
"Just the whole story is upsetting to me," said Cheryl, the parent of a Harmony High student.
Christian Gonzalez, a former student, told Local 6, "That's kind of crazy, because it's the military and you really wouldn't expect that from people that we trust with our lives."
According to the report, Doner was brought in for questioning in late November and told detectives he knew it was inappropriate and indicated he would end the relationship.
Doner was arrested on 10 counts of unlawful sex with certain minors and booked into the Osceola County Jail Tuesday. He bonded out of jail Wednesday.
Detectives said they attempted to meet with Back, but learned earlier this week he had relocated to Michigan as he worked to leave the military. Investigators in contact with Back said he will be extradited for two counts of unlawful sex with certain minors.
"Someone has put this person in a position of power and taking care of my kids when they are not with me and you just naturally assume that they are doing their job," said Cheryl.
An Army spokesperson said neither man is permitted to continue recruiting students pending the outcome of the investigation. They also said the two men don't speak for the more than 9,000 recruiters in the country.
The military will be doing its own investigation into the men's case.
Anyone with information about similar incidents can call the Osceola County Sheriff's Office at 407-348-2222 or Crimeline at 800-423-8477.