JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Bartram Trail High School history teacher is on disciplinary leave after being arrested on a felony sex crime charge in St. Augustine Beach over the weekend, according to an arrest report obtained by First Coast News on Wednesday.

An arrest report for 29-year-old Christopher Ryan Ford states that he was on St. Augustine Beach near 16th Street Saturday when he approached young girls swimming in the water.

The report states that Ford “intentionally” stood near the children, drawing attention from nearby parents. The mother of the young girls told police she saw Ford standing in waist-deep water before he knelt down and engaged in a sex act.

Then, police said Ford approached a second group of underage girls and intentionally stood near one particular girl so the child would be “pushed into him” multiple times by waves. An adult guardian noticed Ford’s behavior, the report said, and moved the children away from him.

Officers responded to the scene and Ford denied any wrongdoing, the report states. Two additional witnesses provided sworn accounts of the incident to police.

Ford is charged with one count of felony lewd and lascivious exhibition on a victim less than 16 years of age.

Three days after his arrest, the St. Johns County School District sent Ford a letter, notifying him that he had been placed on disciplinary leave with pay starting Monday due to his arrest.

Ford has been a history teacher at Bartram Trail High School since 2021. He also served as the boy’s golf coach, a district spokesperson confirmed to First Coast News.

The letter states that the superintendent intends to continue Ford’s leave until the next regular St. Johns County School Board meeting, scheduled for Sept. 9, 2025, where the superintendent plans to recommend that Ford be fired.

Ford has a chance to contest the charges against him, the letter says, and has 15 days from receiving the letter to submit a written request for a hearing.