The report cards are being replaced with arrest reports as multiple Southwest Florida teachers face criminal charges for a variety of law-breaking offenses.
Since 2026 began, at least five educators have made headlines, accused of committing crimes that have resulted in their being placed on leave or fired.
The charges range from drug offenses or assault to sex abuse crimes.
Who they are and what they are accused of:
Melanie Garcia, 21, of Lehigh Acres
The most recent incident of a teacher being arrested in Southwest Florida involves the accused abuse of a child.
Garcia is a teacher at Grace Community School in Lehigh Acres, which focuses on the early education of children 2 months to 11 years old.
She is accused of slapping a child, grabbing the child’s arm and verbally reprimanding the child in a corner of the classroom. The child’s older sister told authorities that she witnessed the abuse take place, police records state.
The school said it conducted an internal investigation which turned up with no evidence to support the abuse claims, according to a statement by the school.
Garcia has been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation by law enforcement.
She was released from custody on the same day as her May 15 arrest, on a $1,000 bond.
Garcia is charged with cruelty toward a child. She is scheduled to appear in court on June 15.
Leroy Irving Jr., 48, of Fort Myers
Irving is accused of having had a relationship that was sexual with a student at Dunbar High School, where he was employed as the school’s band director and the auxiliary dance group. The teen was a member of the dance group.
According to a police report, the victim disclosed to Fort Myers Police Department officers that she and Irving had engaged in sexual intercourse at least two to three times in Irving’s vehicle between September and December 2025.
Irving continually denied having any type of relationship with the teen. However, a Snapchat conversation found between Irving and the student shows the two calling each other “baby” and saying that they “love” each other, which is “not consistent with a normal teacher-student relationship.”
The relationship between Irving and the teen was discovered when the victim’s parents said they discovered her on a video chat with Irving while she was taking a shower.
The Lee County School District suspended Irving in March when the investigation began. Now that the investigation has concluded, the school district is now initiating formal disciplinary proceedings.
Irving faces 1 charge of being an authority figure soliciting or engaging in a romantic relationship with a student, which is a felony. He also faces a charge for possession/viewing of child pornography, in relation to the visual representation of the victim being exposed in the shower on video chat.
Irving factory reset his phone three times within the first two days that the investigation began. As a result, he faces an additional charge of evidence tampering.
He was arrested on May 12 and remained in custody on Monday. His bond has been set at $100,000.
He is scheduled to appear in court on June 15.
Christopher Toukonen, 44, of Naples
Toukonen, a math teacher at Lely High School and former high school football coach, was arrested after school administration received videos from students which depict him using a credit card to move something on his desk and then putting his nose to the surface of the desk.
The “movements and actions were consistent with ingesting narcotics by snorting them,” a police report states.
The school administration searched Toukonen’s backpack and reported they found illegal narcotics in multiple dime-sized bags. Collier County Sheriff’s Office detectives tested the blue and white powdery substances, which tested positive for cocaine and fentanyl.
Collier County Public Schools has begun the process of firing Toukonen, the school district said in a statement.
Toukonen, who was arrested on May 7, has since left Collier County Jail on a bond of $2,500.
He faces 2 counts of possession of a controlled substance and 1 count of possession and/or use of drug paraphernalia.
He is scheduled to appear in court on June 1.
Casimiro Razo, 36, of Fort Myers Beach
Razo is a vocational teacher and boys basketball coach at Ida S. Baker High School in Cape Coral. Reports by the Cape Coral Police Department claim that Razo began texting and writing notes to a student who he thought was pretty and that in October 2025, Razo kissed that student on the mouth.
In his notes to the student, Razo suggested they meet up, the police reports indicate.
Since kissing her, Razo has avoided making contact with the student, believing he had gone too far, the police report states.
The Lee County School District suspended Razo in February, pending the criminal investigation. Now that the investigation has concluded, the school district will initiate formal disciplinary proceedings.
Razo was arrested on May 7 and released one day later, on a bond of $25,000.
He faces one charge of being an authority figure soliciting or engaging in a romantic relationship with a student, which is a felony.
He is scheduled to appear in court on June 8.
Rial Jackson Jones Jr., 32, of Fort Myers
Jones was employed at the Evangelical Christian High School as the boys basketball coach and substitute teacher for less than a year before his March arrest.
Jones is accused of starting a relationship with an 18-year-old student who served as the basketball team manager. The teen’s best friend expressed concerns to a teacher, sharing that she had seen Jones and the victim kiss, and that they might have had a sexual relationship since December 2025.
Court records state that Jones met the teen and her group of friends at various gatherings. He would also meet her alone on multiple occasions.
In an interview with Lee County Sheriff’s Office detectives, Jones initially “denied all allegations of having an intimate relationship with the teen and denied any contact with her outside of school-related functions.”
However, Jones admitted spending time with the teen outside of school functions after being presented with photos that he and the teen are both in.
Messages sent by the teen were found on Jones’ phone, which state “I love you.”
Jones faces one charge of being an authority figure soliciting or engaging in a romantic relationship with a student, which is a felony.
He was released from custody one day after his March 25 arrest, on a $100,000 bond.
He is scheduled to appear in court on May 27.
Tayeba Hussein is a breaking news reporter for The News-Press & Naples Daily News. Reach her at thussein@usatodayco.com.
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Classroom to cellblock: SW FL teachers accused of drugs, sex, assault
Reporting by Tayeba Hussein, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
