A former Florida high school biology teacher serving a prison sentence for sexually abusing a student faces a civil lawsuit filed by the victim.
Brooke Anderson, 28, was named in the complaint while two months into a 30-month prison sentence. The Rhode Island native previously pleaded guilty to multiple criminal charges, including three counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor, in connection with actions involving the student at Riverview High School in Tampa.
According to the civil complaint, the interactions began during the student’s first two years at the school, when he regularly ate lunch inside Anderson’s classroom.
The lawsuit states that the dynamic changed when the student entered his junior year, at which point Anderson began sending him text messages of a “very graphic, sexual nature.”
The lawsuit alleges that communication escalated into the student’s senior year. According to the filing, Anderson sent the student sexually provocative photographs in April 2025 and sexually assaulted him inside her classroom the following month. The student was one year below Florida’s legal age of consent at the time of the incidents.
The civil complaint asserts that the “heinous sex acts” resulted in “permanent psychological injuries” for the victim, including a loss of his religious faith. The filing notes that Anderson’s prior guilty plea in criminal court supports the claims presented in the civil action.
The lawsuit seeks $100,000 in damages from Anderson. Additionally, the plaintiff is seeking $50,000 from the Hillsborough County School Board, alleging negligence regarding Anderson’s employment at the school.
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