On Friday, April 4, 2025, Bryant Caniz-Segovia, a Miami-Dade physical education teacher, was arrested for allegedly having sex multiple times with a 14-year-old student while working at Hope Academy, a K-12 private institution in Homestead, Miami. Caniz-Segovia, 20, faces two counts of lewd and lascivious battery on a child between 12 and 16 years old. According to media reports, the 14-year-old victim told Miami-Dade police that she had a sexual relationship that included multiple “consensual” sexual encounters and the exchange of nude photographs through social media, from February to October 2024, spanning over two school years.
Authorities said after being read his Miranda rights, Caniz-Segovia made some type of confession, though the details were redacted in the publicly-released report. As of Friday, Caniz-Segovia was held on a $15,000 bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
Hope Academy released a short statement:
“Hope Academy was just made aware of an incident. It was reported immediately, and our students’ safety remains out top concern,” the statement read.
Schools are educational institutions in which children should be able to learn and develop skills in a nurturing environment. It is expected that they are safe from violence, bullying, harassment, and sexual abuse. Teachers and coaches are entrusted to facilitate learning and support the educational needs of their students. Someone who sexually violates young children has no place working in the school system. Any school where such a crime is committed should take responsibility if it fails to screen potential teachers and protect its students properly.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing survivors of sexual abuse. We have handled multiple cases of sexual abuse by authority figures in schools. It is expected that any institutions in which children learn and develop skills offer an environment in which they are safe from violence, bullying, harassment, and sexual abuse. Teachers and coaches are entrusted to facilitate learning and support their players’ educational and training needs. Anyone who sexually violates children has no place working in the community or school athletic programs. Any organization committing such a crime must take responsibility for failing to properly screen potential teachers and coaches to protect their students.
If you or a loved one was sexually abused, assaulted, raped, or molested by a coach, principal, teacher, or other school employees, contact our law firm at 888-283-9922 or send an e-mail to sexual abuse lawyer Adam Horowitz at adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com for a free consultation.