LOCAL ELEMENTARY GYM TEACHER ACCUSED OF RAPE OF STUDENT

FEDERAL LAWSUIT APPOINTS TEACHER, PALM BEACH COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD AS Defendants. TEACHER PREVIOUSLY ARRESTED IN PALM BEACH COUNTY.

BY: ANDREW COLTON | Editor and Publisher

BOYNTON BEACH, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2024 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — The Palm Beach County School Board and a physical education teacher at a South Palm Beach County elementary school are facing a federal lawsuit just filed by the parents of a girl who claim their daughter was repeatedly raped by the teacher in a school toilet. The teacher has been arrested at least twice on unrelated charges, according to Palm Beach County records. Despite the arrests, he was still hired by the school district to work at an elementary school.

The lawsuit names Dax Rankine, a gym teacher at Sunset Palms Elementary, as the teacher who carried out the attacks. He has NOT been criminally charged. The website for Sunset Palms Elementary at 8650 Boynton Beach Boulevard states that Rankine currently works in the school’s athletics department. BocaNewsNow.com has obtained the lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. We publish the entire complaint at the end of this report. Here are the main allegations in the complaint:

“During the 2017-2018 school year, JANIE DOE was a second grade student at Sunset Palms Elementary School, a school within the BOARD, and RANKINE, a BOARD employee, was her physical education (PE) teacher. In the 2018-2019 school year, JANIE DOE was a third grade student at Sunset Palms Elementary School, a school within the BOARD, and RANKINE, a BOARD employee, was her gym teacher. In the 2019-2020 school year, JANIE DOE was a fourth grade student at Sunset Palms Elementary School, a school within the BOARD, and RANKINE, a BOARD employee, was her gym teacher until the school temporarily transitioned to online learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. JANIE DOE had known Defendant RANKINE since she was in kindergarten and always found him “touchy” and felt that he was too close to her. During the 2017-2018 school year, Defendant RANKINE would often touch JANIE DOE’s inner thigh during gym class, claiming to be helping her stretch. This touch made JANIE DOE uncomfortable. During the 2018-2019 school year, Defendant RANKINE continued to touch JANIE DOE during gym class, but in addition to touching her inner thigh to “help” her stretch, he began placing his hands on her chest and grabbing her breast area .

This further touching made JANIE DOE even more uncomfortable. Towards the end of the 2018-2019 school year or the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, JANIE DOE arrived at school early, as she often did, because she liked to go to the cafeteria before class. That morning, while walking to the cafeteria, JANIE DOE entered one of the girls’ bathrooms on the first floor of the school, locked the door behind her, and entered the handicapped-accessible restroom because it had more space than the regular restrooms. As she left the stall, she was surprised to see Defendant RANKINE, who she suspected had used a key to enter the bathroom. Defendant RANKINE grabbed JANIE DOE and pushed her back into the stable. Defendant RANKINE told JANIE DOE that she would “get in trouble” if she didn’t do what he told her and/or if she told anyone what happened. Defendant RANKINE was aware that JANIE DOE had a reputation at school as a quiet and obedient child who followed the teachers’ instructions. Defendant RANKINE then had JANIE DOE remove her undergarments, including her underwear. After JANIE DOE removed her clothes as instructed by Defendant RANKINE, Defendant RANKINE turned her around, leaned her against the wall, and placed his hand over her mouth. Defendant RANKINE then raped JANIE DOE. When defendant RANKINE finished raping JANIE DOE, she felt very painful. Defendant RANKINE then left the girls’ bathroom without saying anything to her.

One day in early 2020, shortly before the school moved to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, JANIE DOE was in gym class near the pavilion area of ​​the school, where there were individual, lockable bathrooms. None of JANIE DOE’s classmates were near the pavilion as they were spread out in different areas outside with different teachers. JANIE DOE needed to go to the bathroom, so she went into one of the bathrooms and locked the door behind her. While JANIE DOE was in the restroom, she heard the door open from outside. After the restroom door was unlocked, defendant RANKINE entered the bathroom and locked the door behind him. Defendant RANKINE ordered JANIE DOE to undress to the bottom again, turned her against the wall covering her mouth and raped her again as he had done before. JANIE DOE did not report this incident to the school or her parents because defendant RANKINE again told her that there would be big problems if she told anyone. Shortly thereafter, Sunset Palms Elementary School temporarily closed and classes moved online. Due to the closure of the school, JANIE DOE no longer had contact with Defendant RANKINE.”

The federal lawsuit alleges that not only did Dax Rankine commit rape, but the Palm Beach County School Board did nothing about it. The lawsuit additionally alleges that the Palm Beach County School Board should never have hired Rankine, who had an arrest history before his start date with the school system.

Databases accessed by BocaNewsNow.com show Rankine has faced charges in Palm Beach County and other jurisdictions over the past 25 years. A 2019 drunk driving charge in Palm Beach County was ultimately not prosecuted. According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Rankine refused to provide a breath sample to police at the time of his arrest.

We remind our readers that a lawsuit is an accusation that will be presented to a judge and possibly a jury. The family of the alleged rape victim is represented by lawyer Marc Wites Wites and Rogers in Lighthouse Point. Neither the Palm Beach County School District nor Dax Rankine had any comments as of 5 a.m. Tuesday on the lawsuit, which was being handled by the U.S. District Court’s online system known as “PACER.” The Palm Beach County School District did not immediately respond to a request for information about Mr. Rankine’s employment status by mid-morning Tuesday. Read the full lawsuit below.