Ex-'Teacher of the Year,' 42, Accused of Exchanging Lewd Photos with Girls While Posing as Teen Boy

A once-lauded teacher at a Florida middle school was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly exchanging lewd pictures with underage girls, PEOPLE confirms.

Kristopher Paul Beckstrom — a 42-year-old music teacher at Landon Middle School in Jacksonville, Florida — is charged with transmitting material harmful to minors and producing/promoting performance which includes sexual performance by a child under 18, online jail records show. He remains behind bars.

According to the Jacksonville Public Education Fund website, Beckstrom, who attended Jacksonville University, had previously been named a school-level “‘teacher of the year.”

Duval County Public Schools did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

“At this point, our action is that that teacher is not in any of our classrooms and will not be allowed on any of our campuses,” Dr. Diana Greene, the district superintendent, told local TV station WJXT.

It is unclear whether Beckstrom has an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

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According to his arrest report, a female victim told investigators that a man who went by the username erikb20172018 added her on Snapchat and Instagram. He sent her requests for nude pictures, which she did not send, and wrote messages like “I’m sorry, I have to behave with you” and about wishing “he was there with her.”

The arrest report states that a second female reached out to the first girl on Instagram to tell her that erikb20172018 “is not who you think he is.”

Beckstrom had allegedly confessed his identity to the second girl, with whom he had exchanged inappropriate images, once the second girl noticed that his picture and video did not match his profile picture, which was apparently designed to make him seem like a 17-year-old boy, according to the report.

In another troubling incident, the arrest report notes that Beckstrom once allegedly took a female student’s underwear out of her bag.

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Authorities concluded that there is probable cause that “the suspect directed the victims to engage in sexual conduct by taking pictures of their genitalia and transmitting it to him” and that Beckstrom knew the footage he was sending “was harmful to the victims who are both minors.”

Police seized his iPad and iPhone.

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“He was a great guy and a great teacher, so this is such shocking news,” school parent Brea Nelson said to WJXT. “Disheartening for anybody or parent who’s dealing with the fact that their child had this teacher.”

Another parent said much the same.

“As soon as I saw it, I was at work, I just wanted to throw up,” Amanda Jansen told WJAX. “Momma bear comes out and you just want to protect them.”