Former Sanford school resource officer faces new charges in Seminole High case

A second Seminole High School student accused former Sanford school resource officer Pedro Enrique Da Silva of inappropriate conduct, deepening a case that began with a December complaint and raising fresh questions about how warning signs moved through the system.

Sanford police said they first learned on Dec. 17, 2025, that Da Silva had been engaging in inappropriate communication with a student. Chief Cecil Smith said Da Silva was immediately removed from his position and terminated that day. Police later said the conduct tied to the first student happened between October 2025 and Dec. 17, 2025, and Da Silva was arrested on Jan. 14, 2026, on charges including written solicitation of certain minors to commit a lewd or lascivious act, sexual offense by an authority figure and showing obscene material to a minor.

The new allegations surfaced after the earlier arrest drew attention online, including a Facebook comment that led investigators to look more closely at whether other students may have had similar experiences. According to the affidavit described in the report, detectives reviewed surveillance video and interviewed a second student on Jan. 26. That student told investigators Da Silva pulled her into his office after a school disciplinary issue, asked personal questions about her age and birthday, suggested drinking alcohol together and made comments about locking the office door so no one would know what was happening.

The student also alleged that Da Silva took her phone, tried to browse her photos, added his personal number to her contacts and later told her she did not have to wait until she turned 18 to do things with him. She said he touched her in an elevator and showed her explicit images from his phone during separate office encounters. Those claims led to additional charges, including sexual offense by an authority figure and showing obscene material to a minor.

Florida law defines an authority figure to include school resource officers, a designation that matters here because it makes clear the alleged misconduct involved someone with direct access to students and institutional authority on campus. Florida law also treats written solicitation of a 16- or 17-year-old by a person 24 or older as a third-degree felony.

Seminole County Public Schools says its school resource officer program places a specially trained, state-certified law-enforcement officer on campus full time during the academic year to help provide a secure and orderly environment. Seminole High School, at 2701 Ridgewood Ave. in Sanford, sits within a district that served about 62,211 students in the 2025-26 school year, making the fallout from this case feel larger than one campus. District and police cooperation, combined with Da Silva’s removal, are now the main safeguards in place as the criminal case advances.