‘Called him a liar’: 8th grader suspended from school after reporting Snapchat nudes from teacher, mom says

BRADENTON, Fla. (WWSB/Gray News) – As a middle school teacher in Florida faces accusations of sending sexually explicit texts and photos to a 14-year-old student, the mother of the alleged victim says school administrators initially did not believe her son and even suspended him for what they believed were false allegations.

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said the teacher, 28-year-old Oliver Fell, is charged with lewd contact with a student by an authority figure and transmission of harmful material to a minor.

Fell, a teacher at Haile Middle School, is accused of sending sexually explicit messages, including a naked photo, to a 14-year-old student over Snapchat.

Officials said the Snapchat messages began as casual conversations with the student, then escalated to the transmission of sexually suggestive images and messages.

Investigators say on March 3, a school resource deputy learned from an eighth-grade student that Fell had been communicating with him through Snapchat since December 2024.

The 14-year-old student reported that Fell sent him a nude photo over Snapchat on Jan. 2, the sheriff’s office said.

School administrators were informed of the allegations, but the victim’s mother, Beverly Hernandez, said they refused to believe her son – and even suspended him – while the teacher remained on the job.

“Not only was I disappointed that a teacher who was put there to protect my child was grooming him … I’m more disappointed that they inflicted more trauma by calling him a liar,” Beverly Hernandez told WWSB. “By his thinking he was doing the right thing and speaking up, they retaliated against him.”

According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by WWSB, school officials told the school resource officer, Deputy Sadrac Augustin, that the victim was being disciplined for making accusations against Fell.

Augustin obtained a screenshot from another student’s phone allegedly showing a Snapchat conversation between the victim and someone with the username “Oliver” and a purple cat emoji.

The student told Augustin the conversations were with his teacher, Oliver Fell.

Augustin questioned Fell, who reportedly denied that the social media account was hers or that she sent the images, the affidavit said.

Hernandez said she only learned of the texts on March 3 when she was called to the school because her son was facing discipline.

Despite the allegations, Fell continued her teaching duties until May 14, when she was reassigned.

Hernandez says she was the one who finally notified the state Child Protective Services about the case, saying neither the school nor the school resource officer did so when they first learned of the allegations.

Detectives from the MCSO began an investigation and confirmed that the student had communicated with the teacher multiple times on social media.

After getting a search warrant and receiving permission to access data from phones and social media accounts, detectives discovered evidence indicating that the communications led to “lewd conduct” involving the victim.

The sheriff’s office says the investigation confirmed that the nude photo belonged to Fell.

On May 12, detectives received additional evidence from Snapchat, and on Monday, arrest warrants were issued.

Fell turned herself in to the authorities that same day.

The school’s principal, Irene Nikitopoulos, sent the following statement to parents after Fell was arrested:

Chad Choate, chair of the Manatee County School Board, told WWSB that the time Fell remained in the classroom is concerning.

“If you look at the policy issues, yes, she should have been put on paid leave pending the outcome of the investigation,” Choate said. “Everybody gets due process, but that’s not really what happened here.”

Michael Barber, communications director for Manatee County schools, told WWSB that Fell was reassigned to a position away from the school where she had no contact with students when the allegations surfaced.

Fell has been with the school district for the past four years. Investigators said she had no prior criminal record.

Her bond was set at $20,000 on Tuesday.

In addition to the bond, Fell was also ordered to stay away from the accuser in the case, as well as all minors, and could only be in the presence of juvenile family members under supervision.