JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A former second-grade teacher and coach at Mayport Elementary appears to be moving toward a plea deal with federal prosecutors.
More than a year after his arrest on 25 counts of distributing images of child sexual exploitation, Thomas Hazouri, Jr. is changing his not guilty plea, according to a new federal court filing.
In addition to his plea change hearing, set for Tuesday, there are other signs of a pending deal. Hazouri’s attorneys recently withdrew their motion to suppress evidence in the case, and a new prosecutor signed onto the case specifically to handle “forfeiture proceedings.” Federal forfeiture actions require criminal defendants to surrender property that was either used in, or was the product of, a crime.
The federal docket doesn’t indicate whether Hazouri plans to change his plea to guilty, no contest, or possibly even an Alford plea, in which a defendant agrees to plead guilty but maintains his innocence.
Hazouri is the son of current City Councilmember and former Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Hazouri.
According to a federal indictment, in addition to having hundreds of images of children being sexually exploited by adults, Hazouri also had non-sexual but still concerning photos of students in his classroom.
Christina Peterman, whose daughter was in Hazouri’s class when the investigation began, thinks he should serve substantial prison time.
“Seven to ten years,” she said when asked what an appropriate sentence would be. “That sounds kind of harsh, but like I said these are kids. They don’t deserve it.”
Peterman says while her daughter was not directly victimized, she has been traumatized by the case.
“My daughter trusted him. And she always questions me now on who to trust. And me as a mom, I feel like I don't even have sometimes the best answer, because it's hard to trust anyone any nowadays.” She added, “I'm trying my best with her, and she's doing okay. It’s just, you know, just not being able to trust your own teacher.”
Hazouri’s attorney Hank Coxe said it would be “inappropriate” to publicly discuss a pending matter.
Hazouri is due in federal court for the change of plea hearing Tuesday at 11 a.m.