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Administrators take action after teacher arrested at Pinellas Preparatory Academy

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Published  May 20, 2025 7:57pm EDT
Pinellas County
FOX 13 News
Detecting red flags in child sex crimes

Detecting red flags in child sex crimes

U.S. Marshals took a third grade teacher at Pinellas Preparatory Academy into custody for committing a sex crime against a child. The incident has the school re-thinking they way it educates students, teachers and parents about these very real situation. Kailey Tracy reports.

The Brief

    • Administrators are taking action at the Pinellas Preparatory Academy after a teacher was accused of trying to send obscene material to a child.
    • Parents and staff at the school where the suspect, Lee Hughes, has taught at since 2022 said they were shocked.
    • The school has already had a parent Q and A meeting with the FBI, and initial conversations with the agency and local law enforcement about implementing training and resources for students, families and teachers.

LARGO, Fla. - After one of its third-grade teachers was arrested and accused of trying to send obscene material to a child, Pinellas Preparatory Academy’s administrators are taking action.

The child was not related to Pinellas Preparatory Academy. U.S. Marshals arrested 45-year-old Lee Hughes earlier this month. Administrators and parents at the school he has taught at since 2022 said they were shocked.

Courtesy: Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

What they're saying:

"I think that our staff and community is still recovering from that," Principal Jessica Hill said. "It's not something that anybody really expects to have to deal with, and so, initial shock, a lot of anger and disbelief," she said.

Two of Jacqueline McNulty’s children had Hughes, including one child this school year.

"My kids loved him," McNulty said. "They thought he was a great, fun teacher."

Then, they got an email from the school telling them Hughes had been arrested and immediately fired.

PREVIOUS: Pinellas Prep teacher arrested for attempting to transfer obscene material to a child: U.S. Marshals

"It was extremely upsetting. We were horrified. I think it was honestly sickening," McNulty said.

Both McNulty and Hill said there weren’t any red flags.

"There was no looking back at ‘oh, maybe that's concerning behavior.’ That wasn't there. So, that's why, you know, it was even more of a shock, I think, for our community. You know, parents are upset and angry. Students are sad," Hill said.

Hill said Hughes went through the same hiring protocols as everyone else.

"Our employees complete an application. They go get their fingerprints done. Their fingerprints are then processed through a database, and then they are also provided to the school district human resources department. So, if anything comes back with something on a record, we're notified, and then it's up to determine next steps for that candidate. In Mr. Hughes’ situation, he had a clean record. Nothing came back with his with his fingerprints," Hill said.

Administrators are taking action at the Pinellas Preparatory Academy after a teacher was accused of trying to send obscene material to a child.

"Obviously, this is a larger issue because there's been some additional things that have come out with a teacher in Pasco County and the large, couple hundred people that have been included in this sting. So, it's good that the FBI is cracking down, but as far as having these types of people involved in schools and churches, we need to know how to be proactive to help prevent this type of situation," Hill said.

What's next:

Hill said they’ve already had a parent Q and A meeting with the FBI, and initial conversations with the agency and local law enforcement about implementing training and resources for students, families and teachers.

"Having the ability to put some things in place that might maybe even educate people a tad bit more, especially our students who have access to so much electronics, just teaching them a little bit more of cyber safety would be beneficial for us in the future," Hill said.

McNulty said the situation has been handled well so far by school administrators. She said she’s in favor of any training the school offers.

"I think that it can just happen anywhere to anyone. I don't think there's, in my mind, there's nothing that the school could have done different or can do different in the future," McNulty said. "I know people want to ask ‘what are you going to do going forward so it never happens again,’ nothing. Unfortunately, there is nothing that anyone else can do to prevent it, but it is important to always ask your children what's going on in their lives and just hope you can protect them as much as possible," she said.

Hill said they’re going to try to work on the resources and trainings this summer and potentially have them in place next school year.

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The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Kailey Tracy.

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