A former Lake Shore Middle School basketball coach in Belle Glade pleaded guilty to sending sexually explicit photos and videos to a 16-year-old girl, and walked out of a Palm Beach County courtroom without a single day of prison time. Javian Golphin Jr., 26, instead received two days of time served and two years of probation under a plea deal that let him avoid incarceration entirely.
The deal, struck between assistant state attorney Amanda McCabe and defense lawyer Thomas Montgomery, saw prosecutors drop four of the six felony charges Golphin originally faced, according to the Palm Beach Post. Each of the original six felonies carried a possible sentence of up to five years in prison. In exchange for the reduced charges, Golphin agreed to surrender his teaching license and submit to a psychosexual evaluation.
Circuit Judge Bradley Harper sentenced Golphin in line with what prosecutors recommended, and the resolution left him a convicted felon without requiring him to register as a sex offender. The case was handled at the Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley Courthouse in downtown West Palm Beach.
How the Messages Began
Golphin, who coached boys' basketball at Lake Shore Middle in Belle Glade before he was fired, was 25 when he started messaging the girl on Instagram in September 2025. Investigators reviewing the exchange found that he suggested the teen become his “girlfriend,” promised to take her on out-of-town dates, and asked about her sexual experience, the Palm Beach Post reports. The messages also included remarks about their age difference, requests that she share her location, and videos Golphin filmed of himself naked.
In one message cited by investigators, Golphin wrote, “I just did this for you. Hopefully it brighten the mood a lil.” According to the newspaper's reporting, Golphin knew the girl was 16 at the time. Florida sets the age of consent at 18, though state law allows 16- and 17-year-olds to legally consent to sexual activity with a partner who is 23 or younger — an exception that did not apply here because Golphin was 25.
School Removal and Arrest
Lake Shore Middle School removed Golphin from his position on October 7, 2025, after a complaint was filed, placing him under investigation, according to WPTV. Two weeks later, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office arrested him on October 21, 2025, and booked him into the Palm Beach County West Detention Center, per CBS12. By October 2025, he faced six felony charges tied to the exchange.
The teenager's grandmother gave investigators permission to search the girl's phone, which is how the messages came to light, the Palm Beach Post's reporting indicates. Deputies and prosecutors did not find evidence that Golphin had any on-campus interaction with the girl or that he committed the sexual abuse he had described over text. Golphin's wife filed for divorce soon after the messaging came to light, the outlet's report notes.
Family's Reaction to the Plea
Marc Freeman, speaking for the State Attorney's Office, said the teenage girl's family approved of how the case was resolved. The plea deal closes out a case that stripped Golphin of his career in education while sparing him both prison time and a requirement to register as a sex offender.
Palm Beach Post reporter Hannah Phillips, who covers public safety and criminal justice for the outlet, broke the details of the plea agreement. Her reporting remains the primary account of how the case moved from Golphin's arrest last October through this week's sentencing.
