DeSantis accuses Crist's running mate of protecting lecherous teacher

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis attacked the teachers union president running with his Democratic challenger, Charlie Crist, saying she covered for a high-ranking member sexually abused students while she was in leadership.

“They cared more about the power of their union than they did about the best interest of these kids. That is disgraceful. You do not put union politics ahead of middle school students who are in danger of being sexually abused…that’s disqualifying to be in any political office, much less Lieutenant Governor of Florida,” DeSantis said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Karla Hernandez-Mats, Crist’s running mate, was president of the United Teachers of Dade in when Wendell Nibbs, a 53-year-old physical education teacher, was arrested in 2019 for allegedly sexually abusing several of his students at Brownsville Middle School. A Miami Herald investigation from Jan. 2019 uncovered allegations of sexual misconduct by nine female students in the 15 years since Nibbs became a teacher.

Nibbs pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual activity with a child and was sentenced to eight years in prison on Jan. 23, 2020.

The Miami Herald reported that Nibbs rose into the teachers union’s inner circle despite repeated allegations of sexual misconduct, noting a UTD representative accompanied him through multiple investigations by district police.

The sexual predator served as a building steward for eight years and reportedly had a close relationship with the UTD’s Frontline caucus, which includes Hernandez-Matz and others in the current union leadership. Other teachers described Nibbs as the UTD’s “attack dog” for how the imposing, 6’ 4” P.E. teacher aggressively defended leadership at meetings and online.

Hernandez-Mats and Nibs have taken multiple photos and selfies together, including one from February 2016 in which they are posing under Brownsville Middle’s welcome sign, which reads “UTD we are keeping kids safe,” the Herald reported.

Colleen Wright, the author of the Miami Herald investigation, shared on Twitter a statement that a Hernandez-Mats sent her two months after the article was published that deflected blame for inaction on allegations against Nibbs from the union to the school district.

Hernandez-Mats was tapped by Crist as his running mate on Monday. She has since come under fire for claiming in 2016 that Cubans mourned dictator Fidel Castro’s death.