Sarasota Teacher Accused Of Touching Young Girls

SARASOTA, FL — A 34-year-old school teacher and girl's volleyball coach at Brookside Middle School was accused of touching two female students in September and a third girl who complained in 2017. Police said school officials never reported the first incident to police.

Business teacher Maxwell Guss of Bradenton was charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct by a person over 18, according to Genevieve Judge of the Sarasota Police Department, who said Guss had already been placed on administrative leave from Brookside Middle School where he was a business teacher.

The 2017 incident occurred at Sarasota High School, according to court documents. Guss allegedly told investigators that he had been accused by a student of inappropriate touching during questioning.

Judge said detectives fear there may be additional victims.

"On Sept. 6, 2019, Sarasota police detectives responded to Brookside Middle School for a follow-up on a case of a teacher inappropriately touching two students," Judge explained. "Two students told detectives their business teacher, Guss, inappropriately touched them in the beginning of September 2019."

Guss was an Algebra 1 teacher at Sarasota High School at the time of the earlier incident in which a a student also told detectives she was touched inappropriately by Guss.

"Based on the investigation, detectives believe there may be additional victims," Judge said. Guss was a teacher in Manatee County at Harllee Middle School and Bayshore High School as well as Sarasota High School before being assigned to Brookside Middle School.

To report a tip, call Detective Angela Cox of the Sarasota Police Department at 941-263-6075. Alternatively, call Crime Stoppers at 941-366-TIPS or visit www.sarasotacrimestoppers.com.