Former Lincoln Memorial Middle School teacher to stand trial on child porn charges
The criminal trial of a former Lincoln Memorial Middle School music teacher charged with having naked photos of a 16-year-old girl on his computer and cell phones is set to start Wednesday.
The investigation into Quentin Peterson, 28, got underway in 2017 after an allegation was made that he was having an inappropriate relationship with a student at the school. Peterson was removed from the school and ultimately placed on administrative leave before resigning in September of that year.
The case was a contributing factor in the Manatee school district’s decision to revoke the charter for a charter school, now known as Lincoln Memorial Academy, in Palmetto.
Detectives in 2017 secured a search warrant for and completed a forensic analysis of Peterson’s laptop and cell phones that led to the discovery of photos of Peterson and the girl, who was not the initial alleged victim, according to authorities.
Police were able to identify the teen, who initially tried to claimed the photos had been altered before she admitted to having a sexual relationship with him. Peterson denied having a sexual relationship with the girl or any other wrongdoing.
The photos show Peterson, age 24 at the time, in bed with the then 16-year-old girl, the two kissing and the girl half naked.
Peterson was ultimate arrested and charged with two counts of possession of child pornography.
Peterson’s attorney did not return a call or email requesting comment. His defense intends to call on former Lincoln Memorial Academy principal Eddie Hundley as an alibi witness, according to the court docket.
Meanwhile, as his criminal case unfolds in a Bradenton courtroom, the state’s Education Practices Commission is expected to make a decision on whether to approve an administrative law judge’s recommendation to permanently revoke his teaching certificate during a hearing scheduled to be held Thursday in West Palm Beach.
Judge Lynne A. Quimby-Pennock issued that recommendation in October after reviewing evidence and testimony presented to her during an August hearing. Questioning of witnesses during that hearing centered on some of the other photos police obtained from Peterson’s laptop and cell phones, in addition to the ones used in the criminal case.
Some of the photos showed Peterson kissing the girl in question.
Quimby-Pennock referenced Peterson kissing the girl as part of the reasoning for her recommendation.
“Appropriate boundaries are an essential part of a teacher’s responsibilities,” the judge wrote. “Respondent crossed the line by failing to maintain an appropriate and necessary teacher-student relationship.”
Quimby-Pennock also presided at a hearing that resulted in Hundley having his teaching certificate revoked for five years for recommending Peterson twice for jobs with the Sarasota County School District while knowing there was an on-going criminal investigation of Peterson.
Hundley’s problems with the state contributed to the Manatee school district in July revoking the charter for Hundley’s Lincoln Memorial Academy charter school and re-taking control of the campus.
Peterson had been investigated twice before for prior allegations.
In 2016, Peterson was reported to the child abuse hotline after a foster mother found her daughter’s journal in which she wrote about her crush on Peterson and claim that he had touched her butt and tried to reach into her pants.
Peterson denied those allegations and the girl later told investigators that she fabricated the story.
In 2017, another student accused Peterson of calling her into his office and touching her thigh while students were watching a movie in the dark in the adjacent orchestra room.
Citing inconsistent statements from other students and Peterson, police said they could not prove that Peterson had touched the girl.
