A teacher at a Miami-Dade middle school was arrested after he was accused of lewd acts with a young female student he was having an inappropriate relationship with, authorities said.
Martai Delvon McCullough Jr., 26, was arrested Tuesday on charges including lewd and lascivious molestation of a child, lewd and lascivious conduct on a child, lewd and lascivious exhibition on a child, and offenses against students by authority figures, an arrest report said.
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McCullough, of Miramar, is a teacher at Horace Mann Middle School in El Portal, the report said.
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The allegations against him surfaced when the father of a 12-year-old girl reported an inappropriate relationship between McCullough and his daughter to a Miami-Dade Schools Police officer on June 30, the report said.
The girl, who'd been McCullough's student the previous two school years, told detectives that the two started exchangng notes during the 2021-2022 school year in which McCullough would write things like "I love you" and "You look beautiful today," the report said.
McCullough started buying the girl lunch through Uber Eats and DoorDash, and she would skip class and go to his classroom during his planning period, the report said.
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The two would verbally tell each other "I love you" and hug each other, but during the 2022-2023 school year, they started kissing and McCullough would grope her over her clothes in his classroom, the report said.
McCullough even bought her a bracelet for her birthday, the report said.
During their 2023 spring break, the two started secretly communicating through Instagram, and the girl said McCullough started to ask for photos of her feet, the report said.
McCullough would also expose himself to her during Instagram video chats and sent her lewd messages including "I just want to suck your toes," the report said.
The report said McCullough later gave a full confession.
McCullough was booked into the Miami-Dade jail, where he was being held on a $32,500 bond, records showed. Attorney information wasn't available.
"Miami-Dade County Public Schools is deeply troubled by the disturbing allegations made against this individual. Upon learning about this suspected behavior, Miami-Dade Schools Police immediately began their investigation and subsequently made an arrest," the district said in a statement Wednesday. "This type of comportment will not be tolerated as it runs contrary to the professional conduct we expect from all employees. The District has initiated employment termination proceedings, and will ensure the individual is precluded from seeking future employment with the District."
