PALM BAY, Fla. – A former Brevard County school employee was arrested after Palm Bay police said officers found her in a parked vehicle with a 17-year-old boy, and both acknowledged they had engaged in sexual activity.
Michelle Lynn Hancock, 41, was arrested Tuesday near Dorchester Road NW and Ixora Avenue NW in Palm Bay. Police said she was located inside a red pickup truck with the teenager.
An arrest affidavit identifies Hancock as a special education teacher at Heritage High School in Palm Bay, a school the teen had previously attended. Investigators said the two began communicating again by text message in May 2026 and met several times at the same location in Palm Bay, where police said sexual activity occurred.
According to police, Hancock admitted she drove to pick up the teen when they arranged to meet, with the intention of engaging in sexual activity. Investigators also allege she sent explicit images of herself to the teen through text messages. Authorities collected both Hancock’s phone and the victim’s phone as evidence.
Hancock is facing several felony charges, including engaging in sexual conduct with a student by an authority figure, unlawful sexual activity with certain minors, lewd and lascivious touching of certain minors, traveling to meet a minor, unlawful use of an electronic device to solicit a minor, and transmitting material harmful to minors by electronic device.
She was booked into the Brevard County Jail. The affidavit states Hancock was contracted as a school employee through July 2026.
News 6 has contacted Brevard County Public Schools seeking comment.
