WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. – A former Winter Springs High School teacher was sentenced to prison Friday for having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student in 2023.
Lucas Cridlebaugh, now 27, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he accepted a plea offer at an April 2 hearing in Seminole County and was adjudicated guilty of:
- Two counts of sexual battery on a child by a person in familial or custodial authority
- Two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation against a person between the ages of 12 and 16
Cridlebaugh, who taught social studies at Winter Springs High in 2023, has been designated a sexual predator and had his Florida teacher certificate permanently revoked, authorities said.
In a news release at the time of the Cridlebaugh’s arrest, deputies said that the teen’s mother had learned that the teacher was exchanging “sexually explicit messages” with her daughter throughout the spring and early summer of 2023.
According to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, the teen told investigators that Cridlebaugh had molested her on several occasions, including in his classroom.
Seminole County Public Schools administrators cooperated with the sheriff’s investigation and suspended Cridlebaugh immediately upon learning of the allegations.