ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A former assistant teacher charged with child sexual abuse in St. Johns County, had his guilty plea withdrawn in St. Johns County court Friday morning.
In July 2022, Anthony Guadalupe - who was 19 at the time - was arrested after parents said he inappropriately touched their child at the Chappell Schools. On Oct. 4, 2023, he pleaded guilty to 14 counts of child molestation.
Prosecutors say classroom surveillance footage showed a "brazen" assault on a 4-year-old child. The offenses happened between May 26, 2022 and July 18, 2022.
According to a new motion filed Wednesday, Guadalupe's legal team argues that he did not fully understand the situation when he entered his plea. They have gathered expert testimony claiming he has a learning disability. The document also says the prosecution's expert agrees with the opinion that "Mr. Guadalupe is 'intellectually disabled.'"
In the courtroom Friday, a state prosecutor says "when we filed our initial information, we didn't charge every possible charge that we could have."
"If the defendant withdraws his plea, I am prepared to file amended information, charging an additional seven counts of lewd and lascivious molestation on a victim less than 12," the state prosecutor said. "Each of those counts is of course, wears a life felony. This would increase his exposure as well. And for the record, if the defendant is convicted as charged in all counts in this amended information if I file it, his lowest permissible sentence is 1,247 months in the Department of Corrections. If my math calculations are correct, that bottom of the guideline scores would be 103 years."
Prior to Friday's hearing, Guadalupe faced a sentence of 35 years to life.
"I truly believe it's probably the defendant has cold feet," the state prosecutor said.
Judge Lee Smith approved for Guadalupe to withdraw his guilty plea after testifying. Guadalupe then pleaded not guilty to now 21 counts of lewd and lascivious molestation on a victim less than 12.
First Coast News crime and safety expert, Ken Jefferson, said Guadalupe made a bold move is withdrawing his guilty plea.
“By his own admission he plead guilty to all of the allegations that were leveled against him in the past. What he’s actually doing is rolling the dice," Jefferson said.
Jefferson served as a sex crimes detective during his time at the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and is not involved in this case.
He said Guadalupe's defense team has a tough task as it heads to trial.
“They've got a tough road ahead of them to try to convince a judge and a jury. That one, this man did not know what he was doing. But he did it repeatedly, with several victims, that causes an alarm or red flag right there," Jefferson said.
A trial means more evidence will most likely be presented.
Jefferson said it may be pictures and video family of victims are seeing for the first time.
“It could be traumatic for the family to watch those things, if they hadn't seen it before. If they wouldn't be totally aware of the extent of what he's been charged with," Jefferson said.
Chappell Schools shared the following statement with First Coast News Friday after Guadalupe's hearing:
"The leadership of Chappell Schools, which owns and operates the Chappell Longleaf campus, stands with the victims of Anthony Guadalupe as we all await him to be held accountable for his criminal actions when he was employed at Chappell Longleaf. Chappell Schools is committed to providing excellent care and education at all our locations, including our Longleaf campus and has made additional enhancements to ensure we deliver on that promise.
Upon learning of Guadalupe’s illegal behavior, Chappell Schools immediately reported Guadalupe to the authorities. Chappell also cooperated fully in the investigation. This included voluntarily providing the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office with Chappell’s video surveillance which was the evidence used to indict Mr. Guadalupe. Upon learning of Guadalupe’s illegal behavior, Chappell immediately offered and provided counseling to all families involved in this case.
“The team at the Chappell Schools is thankful for the efforts of the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office who are pursuing justice in this case. As we recover from this horrible chapter, our thoughts are with the victims and their families,” said Suzanne Beevers, recently appointed CEO of Chappell Schools.
For more than 65 years, Chappell Schools has provided advanced early childhood learning and education in North Florida. It has seven locations across the First Coast and has more than 540 students and 100 staff members."
Guadalupe's next court appearance will be on April 2; trial will start April 15th.
