Boynton Beach phys-ed teacher accused of raping elementary student; teacher denies claims

Editor's note: This story contains descriptions of child sexual abuse that readers may find disturbing.

WEST PALM BEACH — After school administrators welcomed back to campus a teacher accused of rape , his teenage accuser sued those responsible for hiring him in the first place.

In a federal lawsuit filed last month, the girl accused the Palm Beach County School Board of inviting danger into its halls when it hired Dax Rankine, a man whose criminal record once caused the Florida Board of Education to deny his application for a teaching license.

The lawsuit revives the rape allegations that the child, now a ninth-grader, first reported to school police in 2023.

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The girl said then and now that Rankine, a physical-education teacher at Sunset Palms Elementary School in suburban Boynton Beach , groomed and raped her between the second and fourth grades. She said the abuse ended in 2020, after the spread of COVID-19 forced in-person classes to end.

Rankine, 47, began working at Sunset Palms in 2012. Cleared of wrongdoing by school officials but removed from campus this month in the wake of the lawsuit, he has denied the allegations through his attorney. The school district, as a policy, does not comment on open litigation.

Citing lack of evidence, school officials deemed claims unfounded In her lawsuit, the student said she'd known Rankine since she was in kindergarten. Even then, she said she found him to be "touchy," often standing too close for comfort.

The child, identified in the lawsuit as Janie Doe, said Rankine began touching her breasts and inner thighs under the guise of helping her stretch for gym class during second and third grade. Doe said the abuse escalated in the fourth grade when Rankine cornered her in campus bathrooms and raped her on two occasions.

Both times, Doe said Rankine told her she would "get in trouble" if she told anyone what had happened. She first made the allegations during a therapy session in 2023, prompting investigations by school and state authorities.

According to public records, none was able to verify her account.

The school district put Rankine on paid leave in November 2023 while it conducted a months-long investigation into the allegations. Rankine provided a statement through his attorneys denying all wrongdoing but declined the school's invitation for a voluntary interview.

Doe's mother also rebuffed numerous attempts by school investigators to interview her daughter, according to emails contained in Rankine's personnel file.

The mother said her daughter, who had provided the same account both to police and an agent with Florida's Department of Children and Families, did not wish to endure a third round of questioning.

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When informed that the school could not depend on interviews conducted by other agencies, the mother refused again.

"Are you saying the school board refuses to investigate using her previous two testimonies?" the mother wrote in February. "Will this school board allow this pedophile to remain in contact with children?"

Rankine remained on paid leave while the school investigated the claims without the participation of either the accuser or the accused. Sunset Palms principal Karen Riddle provided a sworn statement in April vouching for Rankine's work ethic.

"He has always been a great teacher, and is great with supervision," she said. "I could always trust him with safety. There were never any issues."

The school deemed Doe's allegations unsubstantiated the following month.

At the conclusion of a separate investigation, school police recommended Rankine be charged with sexual battery on a person younger than 12, a felony for which offenders can be sentenced to death or life in prison. Prosecutors at the State Attorney's Office declined to move forward on the charge, citing a lack of evidence.

Still, in an email sent days after the lawsuit was filed, Sunset Palms' principal told parents Rankine was removed from campus and would not be returning.

Palm Beach County School Board accused of turning blind eye to alleged abuser Doe's lawsuit accuses the Palm Beach County School Board of willfully ignoring Rankine's criminal past, which includes arrests for a hit-and-run crash, simple battery, driving under the influence and drug possession.

Doe's attorney, Marc Wites, argued in the lawsuit that this history alone should have prevented the district from hiring Rankine in the first place. It initially stopped the state licensing board from approving Rankine's teaching application, though Rankine successfully appealed its decision.

"The family and the community of parents who have children in that school are very disappointed, not only that this teacher was in the school in the first place, based on his public record of prior arrests that make him unfit to be a teacher, but that the school removed him from the classroom one year after our client came forward," Wites said Monday.

Doe has demanded a trial by jury, and U.S. District Court Judge Robin Rosenberg will preside over the case. No trial date has been set.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, the Palm Beach County Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center can help. Reach their helpline at 561-833-7273, or toll-free at 866-891-7273.

Hannah Phillips covers criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at . Help support our journalism and subscribe today .