Lake Gibson High employee accused of stealing student's medication

LAKELAND, Fla. - A Lake Gibson High School employee was arrested Monday after Polk County deputies said she stole a student's medication. 

The Polk County Sheriff's Office said Theresa Salerno, 67, was arrested on a grand theft of a controlled substance charge. 

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What we know:

PCSO said they began investigating on Thursday, September 18, when school administrators reported the possible theft of a student's medication. The school's principal told deputies that a student's prescription bottle was brought in by the child's mother and counted with the school nurse. 

Deputies said the pill bottle contained 30 pills, and after it was counted, it was placed on Salerno's desk. However, when the nurse retrieved the bottle later, nine of the pills were missing, according to investigators. 

Pictured: Theresa Salerno. Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office. 

Detectives looked at the school's surveillance footage, which is when they saw Salerno picking up the bottle and walking out of the camera's view. Authorities said she placed the bottle back on the desk while holding her hand in a cupped position, appearing to be holding something, when she returned.

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Detectives tried to get in contact with Salerno, but she had left on a scheduled vacation, according to PCSO. She returned to work on Monday, and admitted to removing the pills from the bottle. 

Deputies said she claimed that she was looking up the medication to make sure they were the right pills. 

What we don't know:

The sheriff's office did not confirm what Salerno's role was with the school. 

What they're saying:

"This woman stole medication that was prescribed to a child," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. "There is absolutely no excuse for that. We expect school employees to protect children, not steal from them. She knew better, and now she’ll be held accountable."