An elementary school assistant principal in Cocoa was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a former student of his school, police said.
The Cocoa Police Department received a tip from the Palm Bay Police Department, which suggested that the suspect, 25-year-old Devane Nicholi Lonard Clarke, had inappropriate photos on his phone of a minor.
Cocoa Police went to Cambridge Elementary to speak with Clarke. Upon arriving, they requested that he hand over his phone and asked if he was willing to answer questions.
Clarke agreed to cooperate and drove to the Cocoa Police Department.
During the questioning, police said Clarke confessed to communicating with one of his former students via Messenger and Snapchat.
Officers said they were able to recover over 11,000 deleted messages between the suspect and the minor, which were “explicit and provocative.” They said some of the photos showed the minor naked or almost naked.
Police said they confronted him about the messages and photographs, and Clarke confessed he was having an inappropriate relationship with the minor.
The suspect was the victim’s teacher and was currently tutoring her while engaging in sexual conduct, according to Cocoa police.
The suspect was arrested and booked at the Cocoa Police Department and later moved to the Brevard County Jail.
On Saturday, Clarke bonded out of jail.
The Brevard County Public Schools said it was aware of the situation and immediately placed Clarke on administrative leave.
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Source: wesh
