MARION COUNTY, Fla. — The Marion County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a long-term substitute teacher on child sex crime charges.
Deputies say Dianely Torres, 24, was arrested Wednesday following an investigation in which she admitted to “dating” a student.
That investigation started in February after someone reported to the school resource officer that they walked into Torres’ classroom saw her inappropriately touching a juvenile.
The school resource officer learned that Torres had been previously disciplined for messaging students on Discord. Investigators say a search warrant on Discord, plus a search of the juvenile’s phone, revealed Torres had sent nude photos and sexually explicit drawings.
Detectives say Torres admitted to being in a “dating” relationship with the victim, and the pair sent nude photos to each other. Detectives say they found explicit photos of the victim on her phone.
Torres was arrested and booked into the Marion County jail. She faces nine counts of possession of child sexual abuse material and five counts of transmission of material harmful to minors.
Detectives believe there may be more victims. If you or someone you know was victimized, you are asked to contact detective Batts at 352-368-3847.
Following her arrest announcement, Marion County Public Schools released the following statement. It does not mention Torres by name but says was titled “Ex-Substitute Teacher.”
“Good evening, Horizon, this is Principal Cook. Today, a worker with the ESS substitute company Marion County Public Schools works with was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography and transmitting harmful material to a minor after several weeks of an investigation with Law Enforcement. When the complaint was lodged, the ESS worker was immediately removed from the classroom, an investigation was completed, the ESS substitute company was made aware, and the worker was escorted off campus and has not been on any school property since. If you have questions regarding this case, please contact the Marion County Sherriff’s Office.
“I also wanted to remind you we have 7th grade Civics and 8th grade Science testing tomorrow. Please make sure students get a good night’s sleep and are on time for school in the morning. Students may not have their cell phones, wireless earbuds, or smart watches on them during testing. We ask that you help us out by having them keep these items home.
“Finally, our FFA department is selling plants for $5 until this Friday! Reach out to Ms. Cortes if you’re interested in purchasing some for Mother’s Day or just to have in your garden.”
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