Dec. 16 (UPI) — A Florida middle school teacher is being held on 45 charges of sexually abusing a minor and possessing child pornography, local authorities say.
James Goff, 56, was arrested Friday after he was accused of performing sexual acts with a child between May and November, according to the Hillsborough, Fla., County Sheriff’s Office.
Goff, who has been a teacher at Greco Middle School in Temple Terrace, Fla., outside Tampa, for nearly a decade, faces 28 counts of promotion of a sexual performance by a child, eight counts of possession of child pornography and six counts of lewd and lascivious battery.
He was also charged with one count of computer services or devices to solicit certain illegal acts, one count of transmission of material harmful to a minor, and one count of unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
The victim is not believed to be one of Goff’s students, and investigators said the alleged crimes were not committed on school property.
Authorities said they obtained a warrant to search Goff’s home, where they allegedly found images and videos of child porn.
“Not only did this man take advantage of a vulnerable juvenile, he shattered the trust our community put in him,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said. “It’s a betrayal that cuts deep, especially from someone in a position who is meant to nurture and protect.”
In light of the charges, Hillsborough County School District suspended Goff, while administrators expressed shock over his arrest, saying the trusted educator had passed a criminal background check when he was hired in 2014.
Chronister vowed Goff would “pay the full price for his actions.”
