Fla. teacher arrested for sending student inappropriate messages
HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A Brooksville High School teacher was arrested Monday after sending inappropriate instant messages to a 14-year-old student.
According to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, 33-year-old George Beall, a teacher from Nature Coast Technical High School, was messaging the victim for several months.
The victim rarely responded to the messages and told deputies they felt bad ending the conversations since Beall had cancer and had told the boy that he was his “only friend.”
Upon review of the 14-year-old’s computer, the conversations occurred through texts, Snapchat, and PlayStation.
Beall had just started as a teacher at the high school and had responded there to interview the student. The victim was slated to attend that high school this year.
According to deputies, Beall and the student exchanged messages and photos of themselves with each other. However, Beall claimed he had no memory of sending sexual messages.
Detectives found that many of the messages contained GIFs or emojis that contained hearts or references to love. The victim would respond to these messages much later with one-word replies.
Officials also found that Beall would become upset when the victim would not respond or would be uninterested in playing games or chatting with him.
Beall was arrested and charged with transmission of harmful material to a minor and unlawful use of a communication device. He was placed on a $5,000 bond.
The Hernando County School District removed Beall’s from student contact and placed him on administrative leave.
Deputies said there is no indication of additional victims, however, the investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-866-990-8477 or hernandocountycrimestoppers.com. You will remain anonymous.