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LAKE WALES, Fla. - An ex-substitute teacher in Lake Wales was arrested for showing elementary school students sexually explicit photos of herself, police said.
Park Avenue Private School administrators told the Lake Wales Police Department that they fired the substitute teacher, 60-year-old Gayle Wessel, after finding out about the incident on November 7, 2024.
That's when police began investigating and found that Wessel showed several students sexually explicit photos on her phone. Investigators said they also interviewed students who confirmed the substitute teacher showed them the images.
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Booking photo of Gayle Wessel. Courtesy: Lake Wales Police Department.
An analysis of Wessel's phone also uncovered hundreds of explicit images and videos, many that included herself, according to the police department. Detectives even noticed her trying to delete nude photos from her phone after they got in contact with her.
Wessel was arrested on Tuesday at a local motel for six counts of showing obscene material to minors and one count of tampering with evidence. Lake Wales police said she admitted to exposing the students to inappropriate material and that she tried to destroy the evidence during the initial investigation.
Authorities said Wessel had been previously arrested for trespassing, battery, resisting arrest and criminal mischief.
Anyone with information about this case is urged to contact Detective Raines at the Lake Wales Police Department by calling (863) 678-4223.
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