Palmetto High Teacher Charged With Soliciting Child For Sex

PALMETTO, FL -- A Palmetto High School teacher has been arrested on charges of soliciting a child for sex.

According to St. Petersburg Police, Austin Pearce, 28, an agricultural teacher at the high school since August, was arrested Nov. 5 on a warrant out of Orange County on charges of solicitation of a child under 18 years of age to engage in a sexual act, using a computer to solicit sex with a child, committing an unnatural and lascivious act, unlawful use of a two-way communications device and possession of material that includes sexual conduct by a child.

The charges are related to a student in Orange County.

Following the arrest, the Manatee County School District fired Pearce.

In a statement, the district said it performed a background check on Pearce before hiring him and found nothing that disqualified him from employment.

Pearce has been released from jail on a $3,000 bond.

Image via St. Pete Police

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