A former Miami-Dade middle school teacher pleaded guilty on Tuesday nearly two years after he was arrested for having an inappropriate relationship with his 12-year-old student.
Martai Delvon McCullough Jr., 27, was in court with his family to accept an offer from the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, where he avoided jail time and instead was sentenced to 12 years of reporting probation.
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WATCH HEREAs part of the plea deal, McCullough pleaded guilty to offenses against students by authority figures. In exchange for his guilty plea, state attorneys dropped four charges including two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child.
"Are you pleading guilty to that offense because you are in fact guilty?" asked Judge Carlos Humberto Gamez. "Yes sir," McCullough responded.
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McCullough, a former teacher at Horace Mann Middle School in El Portal, was arrested in the summer of 2023 when the father of the girl reported an inappropriate relationship between the teacher and his daughter to a Miami-Dade Schools Police officer.
The girl, who'd been McCullough's student the previous two school years, told detectives that the two started exchanging notes during the 2021-2022 school year in which McCullough would write things like "I love you" and "You look beautiful today," the report said.
McCullough started buying the girl lunch through Uber Eats and DoorDash, and she would skip class and go to his classroom during his planning period, the report said.
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The two would verbally tell each other "I love you" and hug each other, but during the 2022-2023 school year, they started kissing and McCullough would grope her over her clothes in his classroom, the report said.
McCullough even bought her a bracelet for her birthday, the report said.
During their 2023 spring break, the two started secretly communicating through Instagram, and the girl said McCullough started to ask for photos of her feet, the report said.
McCullough would also expose himself to her during Instagram video chats and sent her lewd messages including "I just want to suck your toes," the report said.
The report said McCullough later gave a full confession.
Nearly two years later, the teacher accepted responsibility and became a convicted felon.
He is not allowed to have unsupervised contact with minors, he was ordered to stay away from the victim, and he must also surrender his Florida teaching license. The former educator must also complete a Mentally Disordered Sexual Offender Treatment Program.
According to records, McCullough is prohibited from teaching in public and private schools.
With the court's permission, McCullough will be allowed to move to Georgia to complete his probation.
After the hearing, Defense Attorney Larry Handfield told NBC6 his client is "very sorry" and "he wants to start all over, in a new environment, new state, and a new profession."
