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A Florida principal has been arrested in connection to an ongoing investigation involving a former teacher at the school that was accused of inappropriate communications with a student.
Michael Townsend was arrested after he was accused of failing to report child abuse, according to an arrest report obtained by News 4 Jax on Tuesday, June 30.
Townsend was arrested after James Mulvey, a social studies teacher at Baldwin Middle-Senior High School, was arrested on May 22 on a second-degree felony charge involving offenses against students by authority figures.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said that Mulvey, 47, allegedly exchanged emotionally intimate emails with a student while using school accounts, and he also allegedly asked for the student’s personal email so that they could continue to communicate over the summer.
Townsend’s arrest report stated that two students brought the principal a photo of Mulvey and another student holding hands inside of a classroom on April 30, per the outlet. Townsend reportedly told the students that the minor in the picture was Mulvey’s “adopted daughter” and he claimed that the teacher was showing her “fatherly love” in the snapshot.
The report went on to state that Townsend did not ask for a copy of the photo and he did not ask the students to provide a written statement about the allegations. The students said they felt like Townsend was not taking their concerns seriously and that he seemingly minimized the relationship, per the report.
The report also included a text response that Townsend sent to one of the student’s parents.
“No worries I’m a little worn out on the subject. I just wanted to let you know [your child] was one of the students that did things the right way. [Your child] told me something a few weeks ago that allowed me to put a safety plan in place and being monitoring the teacher,” he wrote, per the report. “I hate the entire situation for all involved, but we’re see something say something for a reason.”
The message continued, “When the girl’s emails became public of course I have turn things over to DCF, DCPS, HR, and PD. I take notes so [your child] is included in them. Not sure if DCPS, JSO, etc. will end up talking to [your child]. Just wanted to give you a heads up as a dad.”
Another teacher told the school’s assistant principal that she was concerned because the student was missing her class to spend time in Mulvey’s class, and the assistant principal reportedly told the teacher to report her concerns to Townsend. The report then stated that the teacher felt “blown off” when she went to Townsend.
Townsend called multiple students to his office on May 20 to discuss Mulvey’s behavior, and the students described the teacher’s “highly inappropriate” actions that they witnessed with the student. The students claimed that they saw Mulvey and the student hugging, as well as Mulvey putting his hand on the student’s thigh and the student lying on his shoulder.
The students claimed that Townsend tried to justify Mulvey’s alleged actions and insisted he had already “handled” the situation, according to the report.
One student alleged that Townsend told them that he spoke to the victim’s mother and she consented to the relationship between her and Mulvey. However, the mother told authorities that Townsend never reached out to her. She added that she had never spoken to Mulvey and would not have approved of the alleged relationship.
Townsend allegedly met with Mulvey to “warn him about the pending investigation and advised him to no longer contact the student” before he filed the report and the teacher was ultimately arrested.
Detectives interviewed Townsend on June 2 before they concluded that he failed to immediately report suspected abuse, neglect or sexual abuse. Townsend was then arrested and booked on Monday, June 29, according to the report.
It is not currently clear if Townsend or Mulvey have entered a plea or retained legal counsel following their arrests. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Us Weekly’s request for comment regarding the case.
Parents, teachers, and guardians interested in learning more about protecting children from exploitation can find useful tools and information at Know2Protect.
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