Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrested Strawberry Crest High School teacher Anthony Michael Peace on Wednesday morning following “an undercover investigation targeting individuals seeking to have sex with minors.”
HCSO said in a press release that Peace, 37, who works at the school as a history teacher and was formerly on the wrestling team’s coaching staff, initiated a conversation with an undercover detective on social media on March 29. The detective was portraying a 14-year-old male. The sheriff’s office said Peace solicited nude photos from the decoy teenager and sent explicit videos of himself, giving detectives sufficient evidence to charge him with five counts of transmission of harmful material to a minor, one count of unlawful use of a two-way communications device and one count of use of computer services or devices to solicit certain illegal acts. Peace was arrested at the school.
“It is the ultimate betrayal of trust when mentors and leaders within our community take advantage of their position of authority over young victims,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a press release. “Parents should not have to worry about teachers preying on their children. We will not stop conducting these types of undercover operations until it is clear to everyone that predatory behavior will not be tolerated in Hillsborough County, especially within our schools.”
Anyone with additional information regarding this case is asked to call 813-247-8200 as detectives keep working to determine if any other minors or students were victimized.