LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. (WFLA) — The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a teacher who is accused of sending an inappropriate letter to one of his 11-year-old students.

The school district is also investigating the Gullett Elementary School teacher, who recently resigned.

News Channel 8 is not identifying the student for her privacy, nor the teacher because he has not been charged with a crime.

Ann Mitchell, the student’s mother, shared her story with 8 On Your Side Wednesday.

“This whole nightmare started when we discovered a two-page letter,” she said.

Ann Mitchell said she gave that letter to investigators at the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

She also gave 8 On Your Side a copy of the letter she said was given to her 11-year-old daughter from her fifth-grade teacher.

It read in part, “You know I truly love you no matter what, that will never change.”

The letter is signed, “Love,” and then the teachers name, with a note encouraging the student to keep the letter a secret.

That 11-year-old girl’s mother and father, Jason Mitchell, saw the letter and told 8 On Your Side they were shocked.

“Incredibly upsetting as a father,” Jason Mitchell said.

News Channel 8 reporter Nicole Rogers asked, “As a dad, where does your mind go from there? What did that open the door for in your head?”

“What can I do legally out of frustration from being in receipt of something like this?” he responded. “What more could he have done to my daughter?”

School District of Manatee County Director of Communications, Michael Barber, sent the following statement to 8 On Your Side.

The teacher’s name is replaced with [the teacher] in the statement because he has not been charged with a crime.

“[The teacher] served as a fifth-grade teacher at Gullett Elementary this school year. On Sunday, March 9, 2025, a concerning letter from [the teacher] to a student was reported to the principal. On Monday, March 10, 2025, the district reassigned [the teacher] to a non-instructional facility where he had no contact with students. The district also notified the Florida Department of Children and Families, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Professional Practices. The Sheriff’s Office and school district opened independent investigations into the allegations. In cases like these, the law enforcement investigation takes precedence. Once the Sheriff’s Office gave the district authorization, [the teacher] was interviewed by the district’s Office of Professional Standards. During that interview, on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, [the teacher] submitted his resignation from employment with the district. His resignation was placed on the agenda for the very next school board meeting, Tuesday, April 29^th, for personnel action. After public comment and board discussion, the school board approved the resignation so that [the teacher’s] separation from the district was complete. The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office investigation remains open, and the district will continue to fully cooperate with that investigation.”

Michael Barber, School District of Manatee County

Jason Mitchell said he hoped the teacher would be fired.

“To us, we felt termination was tougher language attached to somebody we would hope would never be in a classroom again,” he explained.

Now, the fifth grader’s parents have their own message for that teacher.

“I would ask him to take a good, hard look in the mirror, truly self-reflect,” Jason Mitchell said. “I would ask him to get some help.”

“We would want him to read the two-page letter out loud to us as parents, and I want him to look into my husband’s eyes, father-to-father, and read that letter about our little girl,” Ann Mitchell added.

Manatee County Sheriff’s Office detectives said the investigation into the allegations is ongoing.

Detectives also explained that a charge of harassment related to bullying is expected to be filed soon.

On Wednesday, Ann Mitchell shared her message to Tampa Bay parents.

“We are often as parents teaching our children to listen to teachers, to be respectful, to follow directions, so that’s what I taught my daughter,” she explained. “Come to find out that may or may not be the right lesson to teach our kids.”