CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — Coral Springs police officers arrested Joseph Michael Melendez on Thursday and accused him of sexually abusing a teenage boy who was a student at the school where he worked as a teacher.
According to the police arrest report, the victim was between the ages of 13 and 17, and Melendez abused him when he was a freshman and a sophomore at the Coral Springs Charter School.
School administrators entrusted Melendez, 33, with overseeing the American Sign Language Club, which met after school at 3205 North University Drive.
“I don’t think, like, based on what happened, I would ever put myself in that position if it was just like anybody,” Melendez wrote in a text message to the student, according to the police officer’s arrest report.
The victim reported Melendez gained his trust in January 2018 and made him feel like he was his favorite student before grooming him by introducing the topic of homosexual pornography, according to the police report.
Melendez also allegedly crossed boundaries when he exchanged phone numbers with the student and said he had more “experience in what was considered pleasurable.”
By December 2018, Melendez was driving his student from school to his apartment and started to sexually abuse him, according to the police report.
Colleen Reynolds, a spokesperson for Charter Schools USA, which operates the school where Melendez worked, released a statement saying he no longer worked at the school.
“The safety and security of our students is our number one priority. We take this very seriously and have taken all appropriate actions,” Reynolds wrote.
Jail records show Melendez is facing one count of sexual battery of a victim between the ages of 12 and 18, two counts of lewd and lascivious battery of a victim between the ages of 12 and 16, and one count of lewd and lascivious molestation.
He appeared in a Broward courtroom Friday, where a judge found probable cause for all counts and set his bond at $100,000.
Melendez was ordered to have Level 2 GPS monitoring, no contact with the victim or with minors and a prohibition on entering any Broward County school. He must also surrender his passport.
Detectives asked anyone with information about this or other cases to call 954-344-1800 or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477 to remain anonymous.
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