Ex-teacher arrested in sexual battery

A former elementary school teacher was arrested late Thursday after authorities said he performed a sex act on a teenage boy in an East Naples parking lot.

Thomas Scott Stone

Collier County sheriff’s deputies were patrolling the parking lot at Gulfgate Plaza, 2882 U.S. 41 East, when they noticed a vehicle at about 8:10 p.m. parked in a secluded area. Deputies approached the vehicle and found a 15-year-old boy in the passenger’s seat.

Deputies said the driver, Thomas Scott Stone, 32, of 138 Teryl Road, No. 2, East Naples, had been engaging in sexual activity with the boy in the vehicle.

The boy reported that he had been walking through the parking lot at Gulfgate Plaza when Stone approached him and asked about his sexual orientation. The boy then entered Stone’s car, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Authorities said Stone drove to a secluded location in the parking lot and asked the boy to touch him. Stone then performed a sex act on the boy, authorities said.

Deputies also found a plastic bag containing marijuana and two packs of rolling papers in Stone’s vehicle, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Stone had taught kindergarten through second grade at Lake Park Elementary School in Naples. The Collier County School District said he was employed at the district from August 2005 until he resigned in October.

He was arrested in connection with sexual battery of a victim over age 12, possession of marijuana - not more than 20 grams and possession of narcotic paraphernalia. A judge will set bond in the case.