COCOA, Fla. – An assistant principal at Cambridge Elementary faced a judge Friday after police said he confessed to exchanging lewd texts and photos with a former student.
Devane Nicholi Lonard Clarke, 25, was arrested Thursday.
Recommended Videos
According to a probable cause affidavit, Cocoa police received a tip from Palm Bay police after someone brought in an Apple Watch with lewd photos of a girl.
Cocoa officers then went to Cambridge Elementary to speak with Clarke, records show.
Investigators said the man turned over his phone and consented to a search of the device. Officers said they were able to recover 11,000 deleted text messages between Clarke and the victim, a former student of his. The texts included lewd conversations and explicit photos, records show.
Officers said they confronted Clarke with the texts and he confessed to the abuse.
Clarke faces charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, lewd solicitation of a child by computer and offense against a student by an authority figure.
A judge granted Clarke a $31,000 bond. Clarke had bonded out as of Sunday morning.
News 6 has reached out to the Brevard County school district for comment on the arrest. This story will be updated if we receive a statement.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: