A paraprofessional with the Marion County School District is behind bars on sexual assault charges involving a minor.
A Marion County sheriff’s detective arrested 31-year-old Frederick Lamar Hamilton on Thursday morning at his home in Ocklawaha, located at 11840 S.E. 141st Terr. Hamilton, who worked at Liberty Middle School, has been on paid administrative leave since Sept. 2, according to a spokesman for Marion County Schools, who also said that none of the alleged incidents took place on school property.
Hamilton, whose role in the school district is the equivalent of a teaching assistant, is facing charges of lewd and lascivious battery on a victim between 12 and 16 years of age and sexual assault on a victim between 16 and 17 years of age.
On Sept. 2, the sheriff’s office received a call after a 17-year-old victim claimed that he had been sexually battered by Hamilton on numerous occasions for the past six years. According to the victim, Hamilton initiated a variety of sexual acts with him, and on the most recent occasion, he provided him with alcohol and then sexually battered him, a sheriff’s office report states.
During an interview on Thursday, Hamilton allegedly admitted to having sexual contact with the victim on three separate occasions. He was placed under arrest and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was being held on $20,000 bond.
The report notes that the victim wasn’t one of Hamilton’s students. It also states that detectives believe there could be other victims. Anyone with information about others who may have been victimized is asked to contact Detective Scala at (352) 368-3548.