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Schools

Another teacher accused of Web pornography

The arrest of the Pinellas Park High teacher is the second such arrest of an area teacher in less than a week.

By THOMAS C. TOBIN
Published December 24, 2005

CLEARWATER - Police on Friday arrested another Pinellas school teacher - the second this week - on charges of using computers to lure teenage girls into sexual situations.

Jason Matthew Hooper, a 30-year-old English teacher at Pinellas Park High School, was arrested Friday morning at his Clearwater apartment and booked into the Pinellas County Jail on 47 felony counts.

Police allege he convinced some of his female students - all minors - to e-mail him pictures of themselves either nude or partially undressed. He also took "intimate apparel" from at least two girls, police said.

Hooper's arrest comes on the heels of Wednesday's arrest of Pinellas teacher William Warren Greico on computer pornography charges in Hillsborough County. Greico, 42, teaches at Seminole High and last year was on the staff at John Hopkins Middle School. He has been placed on administrative leave pending a review by the Pinellas School Board.

Police and school district officials called the timing of the two arrests nothing more than a coincidence.

"There's no trend," said Clearwater police spokesman Wayne Shelor.

"The cases themselves are quite different," said school district spokesman Sterling Ivey. "How many people are doing this in society that we don't know about? ... It could be the person next door. It could be the person in the office next to you."

Ivey said the district conducts criminal background checks of prospective teachers and other employees but there is no provision for psychological tests to screen for sexual predators. He said such tests could be illegal because they would rely on subjective judgments.

Clearwater police said more charges are pending against Hooper as they continue their investigation. So far, they said, they have found no instance where Hooper had physical sexual contact with any of the students.

He remained in jail late Friday on $490,000 bond. He has no previous offenses, authorities said.

Hooper taught freshmen and juniors in the school's Criminal Justice Academy, a four-year magnet program that introduces students to careers in law, law enforcement and related fields. He resigned in November after school district investigators confronted him with the allegations.

Authorities searched Hooper's apartment last month after the mother of a 16-year-old girl said she discovered inappropriate e-mail exchanges between Hooper and her daughter on the family's home computer.

Investigators would not describe the specifics of the case Friday, but many details are found in the warrant used in the Nov. 5 search of Hooper's apartment.

According to that document, Hooper sent an e-mail to one girl that said: "THANK YOU VERY MUCH. Your (sic) still wearing too much!" The girl responded in part: "(I'll) have to take (some) nude ones ... oops did I say nude I meant new hahhaahahah."

Another girl, according to the warrant, took photos of herself in various stages of undress using her cell phone camera and e-mailed them to Hooper at the teacher's urging.

Yet another girl took photos of herself on a Web camera affixed to her personal computer and sent them to Hooper. The girl was clothed in the initial photos but later sent photos of herself unclothed at Hooper's request, the warrant states.

Investigators say Hooper victimized "several" girls, but the charges so far are based on alleged offenses against only two students.

"He took advantage of minors, betrayed a position of trust," Shelor said. "The parents are aware of what happened. The minors are aware of the danger they put themselves in."

Hooper is charged with 32 counts of possessing child pornography, 12 counts of sending computer material harmful to a minor, two counts of use of a child in a sexual performance and one count of solicitation of a minor via a computer.

The charges stunned Pinellas Park High principal Denise Hart, who learned of the arrest from a reporter. Pinellas schools have been closed since Dec. 16.

"I'm shocked, surprised and disheartened," Hart said, adding that Hooper was viewed as a "popular young teacher."

Hart estimated that Hooper taught about 125 students. District officials said they would discuss plans for notifying the parents of all those students about the charges.

Clearwater police said the case has a message for all parents.

"Just like any other aspect in your child's life, you need to stay actively involved," said detective Michael Folk, who arrested Hooper. "Know what your child is doing. Know where they're going... Keep computers in public areas."

[Last modified December 24, 2005, 01:09:13]