PALM BAY, Fla. — A Brevard Public Schools official says a hole in the process allowed an instructor and coach to be hired twice despite being under investigation for allegations of inappropriate behavior.

"Somehow, (he) got through our screening process and was hired again," said Matt Reed, a Brevard Public Schools spokesman.

It started in November 2014, when the principal at Palm Bay Magnet High School appointed Stephen Donohoe as volunteer head basketball coach.

Records we obtained by Melbourne Police show that one month later, the agency got a request to investigate inappropriate texting. Two months after that, police say Donohoe invited students to his house to watch March Madness.

In September 2015, the team's assistant coach reported seeing "inappropriate behavior."

But despite that, just two months later, Brevard Public Schools hired Donohoe as an instructional assistant.

A day after his hire, a student reported that Donohoe slapped him weeks earlier, but still nothing was done.

The following May, Donohoe left the district. But six months later, the district hired him again.

"We are still reviewing how the heck that could happen," Reed said.

At this point, a student came forward alleging Donohoe touched him sexually at that March Madness party in 2014.

That's when the school put Donohoe on paid leave. 

"BPS cooperated with the investigation, but there were never any charges or arrests," Reed said.

According to Melbourne Police, no charges were filed, because there were no corroborating witnesses.

But the school had heard enough, firing Donohoe in December 2016.

Today, Donohoe lives out of state and denies the Brevard County claims.

"No none of them are true," he said in a phone call. "Nothing was ever done. Nothing ever happened.

"I've had people look at me who used to think I'm a good person (who) now think of me as a bad person," he said. "I've lost friends, and it's all without facts."

The state Education Practices Commission filed a final order in Donohoe's case at the end February of this year. By March 15, his educator's certificate was permanently revoked, so Donohoe will not be allowed to teach in Florida again. 

"It takes so long for the state to act, so now the questions are coming about, 'Who is this guy? Why did you hire him at some point? How could he have gotten through your screening process?" Reed said.

"We have tried to get much better at keeping records and lists of people that should not being hired because of past problems."

Florida Department of Education Press Secretary Audrey Walden said in an email that the agency has a "robust system" for investigating educator misconduct claims and taking action when possible by law. She said the DOE tried to serve Donohoe with administrative complaints three separate times via certified mail and then used a process server, but the agency never received an election of rights from him.

Melbourne Police said police reports don't show up in background checks unless there was an arrest, but if the school had requested the files on Donohoe directly, the reports would have been provided.