Ex-Cape Coral middle school teacher pleads guilty after sending explicit photo to student
A former Cape Coral teacher arrested twice, accused of sending explicit photos to a student, changed his plea during a Thursday trial call. He pleaded not guilty a year prior.
Joseph Reynolds, 31, pleaded guilty to charges of lewd and lascivious molestation, transmission of material harmful to a minor and computerized solicitation of a minor in one of the two cases he was charged in. In a separate case, the state dropped the sole charge March 28.
Reynolds worked as a teacher at Diplomat Middle School. He was arrested April 7, 2023, for transmission of material harmful to a minor after a Cape Coral Police Department Special Victim’s Unit investigation found he sent a picture of his genitals to a student.
He was rearrested two days after his release on bond. After his second arrest, he was released April 26, 2023, on $120,000 bond.
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In May of last year, ahead of his arraignment, the state dropped one count of failing to report suspected child abuse and believed there was insufficient evidence for one count of selling, lending, transmitting or possessing obscenity.
Reynolds is next due in court June 17 for sentencing before Lee Circuit Judge Margaret Steinbeck.
"We hold our teachers to high expectations and do not tolerate the alleged behavior," Rob Spicker, spokesperson for the Lee County School District, wrote in a statement.
Spicker said Reynolds was "immediately removed" from the classroom when the allegation was reported, never returned and is no longer an employee of the school district.
The school district notified the Department of Children and Families, law enforcement and the Florida Department of Education of the allegations.
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Cape Coral teacher pleads guilty after sending genitals pic to student
