COCOA, Fla. — An 18-year-old high school senior at the center of a dispute over his appearance on a gay pornography website will return to Cocoa High today.
A Brevard Schools decision banning him from classes catapulted Robert Marucci into the center of controversy last week; however, the district on Tuesday said the teen would be allowed to return to class.
"I'm just ready to return to school, like a normal day," he told FLORIDA TODAY on Tuesday.
Marucci told WKMG Local 6, a FLORIDA TODAY news partner, that he believes he was kicked out of class more than a week ago because of his job in gay pornography. The television station cited the school's referral slip as saying Marucci made threats against other students and said he was being bullied after classmates found the pornographic videos.
The district, however, said Marucci never complained of being bullied and denied Marucci was banished because of his job.
"We would never suspend a student for his job, or job-related activities," district spokeswoman Michelle Irwin said. "We had to conduct an investigation based on some credible information that we received ... When we have anything that's a safety and security issue, we keep a student home."
Irwin would not elaborate on specifics of why Marucci was sent home, citing the Family Educational Rights to Privacy Act. Irwin said Cocoa High principal Dr. Stephanie Soliven called Marucci on Tuesday morning — after the holiday weekend — and they worked out a plan to get him back to class.
Marucci said the principal "apologized to me and said the threats were made up (by other students)." District officials confirmed the investigation had been cleared.
Irwin said the discussion between student and principalwas held according to policy and procedure and was not the result of a flurry of furious Facebook comments and feedback the district has gotten after the story broke.
"It's easy to become emotional about a situation when it looks like a student is being targeted for his lifestyle choices. That is not the case here," Irwin said. "We will continue to work with the student and his family to make sure he graduates and moves on with his education."
Marucci appeared in five videos posted on the California-based gay pornography website SeanCody.com between October and December. He turned 18 in June.
After being told about the situation, Assistant State Attorney Wayne Holmes said because Marucci is an adult, Marucci did not appear to violate obscenity laws.
"We're basically in a society today where consenting adults can do what consenting adults want to do," Holmes said, adding that the community standard for what is obscene has expanded. "What 30, 40, or 50 years ago may have been a crime, you can now go to a local movie theater and see."
Marucci shuffled his bare feet through dry pine needles carpeting the cement walk outside his home while speaking with FLORIDA TODAY on Tuesday. He slumped his muscular,5-foot-9 frame, hung his blond head and avoided eye contact.
The 18-year-old high school senior was anxious on the eve of his return to class today. He behaved nothing like Noel, his bold online personality as a gay pornography model. He knows returning to the halls of Cocoa High School will be anything but ordinary given his unusual job, one he said he took to help support his family.
Marucci said he got the job to help his mother pay bills. His father does not work, he said.
"It's just her trying to feed me and the dogs and pay bills," Marucci said, rubbing his hand across his face. His mother told the television station she was aware of her son's work. Marucci declined an extensive interview, saying his mother has been the target of negative commentary since the WKMG story appeared.
"I'm not trying to be involved in anything that harms my mother," he said.
