Joseph Michael Melendez {BSO}
A Coral Springs Charter School teacher was arrested for sex crimes Thursday after police said he had a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old male student.
Coral Springs Police Special Victims Unit detectives arrested Joseph Michael Melendez, 33, of Coral Springs, on one felony count of sexual battery, two felony counts of lewd and lascivious battery, and one felony count of lewd and lascivious molestation.
Melendez, who has taught sign language and theater at the charter school, was arrested in the parking lot of the city’s Northwest Regional Library, 3151 N. University Drive, police said.
After being read his rights, Melendez admitted to detectives that he had a sexual relationship with the victim when he was 15, police said.
Coral Springs Charter School is operated by Charter Schools USA (CSUSA) and governed by the Coral Springs City Commission, authorities said. Once notified of the charges against Melendez, CSUSA immediately terminated his employment, according to police.
The investigation into Melendez began July 21 when the victimized boy provided a sworn statement to police about a sexual relationship he had with Melendez while he was a student at CSCS, police said.
The victim said their relationship started in 2018 and continued until 2019 during his freshman and sophomore school years, according to investigators.
Melendez was the victim’s teacher and responsible for overseeing the after-school American Sign Language (ASL) club, police said.
Throughout the investigation, additional statements and corroborating evidence were gathered in the case against Melendez, police said.
Following his arrest, Melendez was taken to the Coral Springs Police Department for processing and later taken to BSO’s Main Jail for booking.
Coral Springs Police on Thursday urged anyone with relevant information pertaining to the investigation into Melendez to contact SVU Detective Michelle Gianino at Mgianino@coralsprings.gov.
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