Florida teacher’s aide solicited explicit photos from underage students, detectives say | Bradenton Herald

A teacher’s aide at a Tampa middle school was arrested Monday and face charges he solicited explicit photographs and requested sexual encounters from two underage girls who attend the school, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

Quinton Bradford, 24, of Tampa, faces four counts of obscene communication using computer/devices to solicit and lure children and was released from Hillsborough County jail after posting $30,000 bail, according to jail records.

Bradford, a teacher’s aide at Buchanan Middle School at 1001 W Bearss Ave., was arrested Monday after deputies say he admitted to soliciting explicit photographs from two underage girls who attend the school.

According to detectives, Bradford, over a period of several months, contacted two 13-year-old girls through private social media messages where he solicited and received sexually explicit photographs from the girls. In one instance, he requested a sexual encounter that never occurred, detectives said.

Detectives became aware of Bradford on Monday, when they were called to the school by the administration concerning improper photos of him circulating among the student body that had been captured from his social media accounts. It was during the course of that investigation that detectives say they discovered Bradford’s improper communication with the underage girls.

He was arrested at the school, deputies said, around 4 p.m. after an interview with detectives. During the interview Bradford admitted to asking for the images while knowing the students were underage, detectives said.

Bradford first made contact with the girls through their Instagram accounts and gained their trust, detectives said, by complimenting their looks. The online conversation escalated to the point that Bradford openly asked for nude photos and told one victim he wanted to meet her so he could touch her inappropriately and have sex with her, detectives said, and asked the other victim for nude photos on three different occasions.

Detectives are not currently aware of any other victims, however, the sheriff’s office encourages anyone who may have been a victim or anyone with additional information to call the agency at (813)-247-8200.