A teacher who was caught having sex with a colleague in a Florida classroom before school didn’t understand why she was in trouble when interrupted mid-act by the principal, telling him “I am doing this on my own time and not being paid,” according to school officials.
Samantha Wilhide has been reassigned to a district administrative office after the alleged May 4 tryst in a darkened classroom at Heights Elementary School in Fort Myers, the News-Press reports. Wilhide was found sitting on a table wearing only a bra as her shirtless colleague, Justin Pinto, was pulling up his pants, according to a report by the school’s principal.
“I went to Justin’s classroom and when I walked by the classroom door, the lights were out and I could not see anyone through the window,” Principal Doug Palow wrote in a Lee County school district investigative report. “I told both of them to put their clothes on and meet me at my office.”
Pinto later refused to respond when asked by Palow what led up to the tawdry romp, saying only “I am sorry” before leaving the office. Palow then told Wilhide that she could lose her teacher’s certificate as a result of the incident, prompting her to claim that the encounter was the first time the couple had sex in the classroom.
Wilhide was confused as to why she was being reprimanded, saying “I am doing this on my own time and not being paid,” according to Palow’s account.
A review of security video from inside the school revealed that Pinto and Wilhide met in Pinto’s classroom on multiple occasions before the start of classes at 6:45 a.m., Palow wrote.
Pinto, a first-year teacher, has been terminated from his probationary contract, school district spokesman Rob Spicker told the newspaper. Wilhide, a four-year district employee, can request a hearing on the allegations, although one had not been scheduled as of Monday.
“She is entitled to due process,” Spicker told the newspaper. “In fact, her hearing has not even happened. So rather than simply suspending employees with pay, they get reassigned to the district. We are paying them anyway, so we have them come down here and work.”
Palow’s report also found that Pinto sent inappropriate text messages to other coworkers, including asking one to marry him and another if he could kiss her during class, WFTX reports.


