TAVARES, Fla.—A woman arrested last year after being found on the Tavares High School campus has been arrested again, this time for crimes involving a minor.
Dakota Marie Adams, 21, was first arrested Aug. 25, 2023, after a Lake County Sheriff’s Office school resource deputy received a tip she was on the THS campus in the middle of the school day. The SRD located Adams and she said was 19 years old and a senior at the school. She also told the SRD she did not have her license, but he found it in her wallet, and she was arrested for trespassing and giving false information to law enforcement.
The arrest affidavit in that case did not state why Adams was on campus, but a subsequent report related to Adams’ latest arrest, obtained only by Inside Lake, revealed the reason.
Just three days after Adams’ first arrest, a man came to Tavares Police Department and reported he believed his minor daughter was engaged in sexual activities with Adams. The man told TPD he received a call from the THS SRD who told him Adams “snuck” on campus and pretended to be a student to see the man’s daughter and Adams had been arrested for her misdeeds. The man told TPD he started his own investigation and discovered Adams and the girl were in a romantic relationship.
He said he first believed Adams was male minor because she “identifies as a male,” and said he saw Adams’ arrest posted in the Facebook group Tavares Word of Mouth and many people commented stating Adams had a history of preying on minors. Other comments alleged Adams frequented Wooton Park and provided narcotics and alcohol to minors she met at the park. The man told police once he found out Adams was in fact an adult female, he took his daughter’s phone and found multiple intimate messages, nude photos and videos of Adams, and videos of the minor “partaking in the use of marijuana,” along with Adams smoking and consuming alcohol, the report states.
He also said he believed Adams was “grooming” the girl and they had been engaged in sexual activity. The girl denied any sexual activity occurred and said “hugging” and “holding hands” were the only physical activities they participated in.
The case was turned over to the TPD’s criminal investigations division (CID) and detectives began their investigation.
While TPD detectives were investigating and awaiting the results of forensic searches and the completion of forensic interviews, Adams’ arrest for trespassing on the THS campus and false information to a law enforcement officer was making its way through the court system. On Sept. 26, 2023, Adams pleaded guilty to both charges and was sentenced to six months probation with early termination upon completion of special conditions. According to court documents, Adams was ordered to undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation and any recommended treatment.
Adams’ probation was terminated early on Dec. 12, 2023, and just two days later, a warrant for her arrest was issued for transmission of harmful material to a minor, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. She was booked into the Lake County Jail Friday morning and is being held on $9,000 bond.
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