The founder and director of the non-profit Plant City Community Choir was arrested July 16, on three counts of lewd and lascivious battery.
According to Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office reports, Joseph Mendolia, 25, of Plant City, posed as a woman named “Amanda” in an online chat and subsequently drove in March, to St. Petersburg to meet the 15-year-old child.
He is currently being held in the Pinellas County Jail on $20,000 bail for each of the three charges.
His mother, Jerry Ann Bracken, was by his side during Tuesday’s arrest. Bracken went to her son’s first court appearance on Wednesday, where he received the advice of his attorney. She said he was placed on suicide watch after his arrest.
“He needs lots of prayers,” Bracken said.
Bracken also urges the community to look at all he has accomplished.
The University of South Florida graduate student has embedded himself in the community as a musical leader, she said. Mendolia started the community choir in 2008 with only 12 singers. The choir is now up to 35 members, including teenagers and adults.
The group has performed at a variety of Plant City events, including the 2012 Fourth of July Celebration. The choir’s annual Christmas by Candlelight concert, which draws hundreds, is the crown jewel for the choir.
Since learning of Mendolia’s arrest, the board of directors for the community choir has removed Mendolia from his post as executive and artistic director.
“The board of directors for the Plant City Community Choir has held an emergency meeting, in light of the allegations currently pending against the director, Joseph Mendolia,” the board posted on its Facebook page and website. “The vote of the board was unanimous, and for the sake of the choir, Joseph Mendolia has been removed as the executive and artistic director of the choir, effective immediately.”
The board has also suspended all community choir activities until further notice.
“PCCC has lost the most dedicated artistic director it could ever hope to have,” Bracken said in response to the post on Facebook. “When the board called me with the news, I can understand their decision, but I really did not feel any support toward Joseph. They just wanted their belongings, and that saddens me.”
In June, the Plant City Observer reported Mendolia’s plans to launch a Plant City Community Orchestra. The orchestra was planned to play alongside the community choir at the Christmas concert, with a possible extension to other performances.
Mendolia opened the orchestra to adults and students in eight grade and older. He was hoping to start rehearsals in August.
On Mendolia’s Facebook page, he also mentioned he would be “filling in at Strawberry Crest High School for a few months this fall.”
Mendolia was born and raised in Plant City and graduated from Plant City High School. He moved to Jackson, Tenn., to study music education at Union University, until a tornado hit the college campus in 2008. He moved back to the area and attended Hillsborough Community College.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in music and was working on his master’s degree in choral conducting at USF.
He moved back to Plant City earlier this month.
Mendolia also was a former camp counselor with the University of South Florida’s music program.
Investigators are seeking more information about Mendolia. Contact FDLE Special Agent Al Danna, (813) 878-7384, or St. Petersburg police Det. Kenny Sharp, (727) 893-4297.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.