FL Substitute Teacher Sent Inappropriate Texts To 2 Teens: Sheriff

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — A former substitute teacher faces charges in two Florida counties for inappropriate relationships with teenagers.

Joseph Prevatte, 39, of Hillsborough County was arrested Nov. 8 for sending sexual messages to a Manatee County high school student, according to a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office news release.

He was also arrested Tuesday for a separate incident involving a minor by Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office deputies, the MCSO said. In that case, he was charged with lewd or lascivious battery and harmful explicit communication to a minor.

A tip alleging that a substitute teacher was sending inappropriate messages to a student was submitted through the FortifyFL app on Oct. 31, MCSO said.

The school, which wasn’t named by the sheriff’s office, notified the Florida abuse hotline, as well as the Department of Children and Families and MCSO detectives, about the tip.

The school board immediately prevented the suspect, Prevatte, from working teaching jobs within Manatee County Schools pending the outcome of the investigation.

Detectives learned that Prevatte sent messages back and forth with the victim on Instagram for a few weeks, and that some messages had a sexual undertone, the sheriff’s office said. He also sent the victim an image of himself unclothed but cropped it to exclude his genitalia.

MCSO detectives learned that the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office was also investigating Prevatte for an inappropriate relationship involving a minor victim in Hillsborough County.

Detectives believe that there could be additional victims. Anyone with information is asked to contact MCSO at 941-747-3011.