A 60-year-old former substitute teacher, Gayle Wessel, was arrested in Lake Wales on charges of showing sexually explicit images to her elementary students. According to WFLA, Park Avenue Private School administrators reported the incident to law enforcement on Nov. 7, leading to her dismissal from the school that day. The Lake Wales Police Department conducted an investigation over several months.
During the investigation, police found hundreds of explicit images and videos on Wessel's phone. "Consistent accounts of the incidents" were provided by children, and Wessel was seen trying to delete nude photos from her phone when detectives first contacted her, according to interviews and an initial investigation cited by WTSP. She was located and arrested at a local motel on Tuesday.
Wessel faces six counts of showing obscene material to minors and one count of evidence tampering. According to a statement from the Lake Wales Police Department, "The Lake Wales Police Department remains committed to protecting the children of our community and holding individuals accountable that endanger their safety." Wessel has a history of prior arrests, including charges for trespassing, battery, resisting arrest, and criminal mischief, as per the WFLA.
Anyone with additional information or insights into the case is encouraged to come forward. Detective Raines of the Lake Wales Police Department can be contacted for this purpose, as reported by FOX 13 News.
