JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 38-year-old former teacher at Terry Parker High School was sentenced to more than nine years in federal prison after he was convicted of distributing child pornography.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI began to investigate Jordan Frederic Schemmel on Sept. 5, 2018 after an individual using the username Profsunrise15 responded to a message posted by an undercover agent on an internet bulletin board frequented by individuals with a sexual interest in children.
After some conversation about sexual interest in children, Profsunrise15 sent the agent a video depicting a young child being sexually assaulted by a man and later sent a photo depicting similar criminal conduct with a child.
Investigators learned the IP address used by Profsunrise15 was linked to Schemmel’s residence in Jacksonville and that Schemmel was a teacher at Terry Parker.
In Oct. 2018, FBI agents and other law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at Schemmel’s home and seized several items of computer media and at least one Apple iPhone.
Schemmel’s smartphone and a thumb drive found in his home both contained 102 images and 28 videos depicting child pornography and bestiality, according to the U.S. attorney.
Prosecutors said that during an interview with law enforcement officers, Schemmel admitted that his Kik username was Profsunrise15, that he had sent the child-pornographic video using the Kik app and that he had previously tried unsuccessfully to stop viewing child pornography.
According to the criminal complaint, Schemmel told agents he would feel ashamed after viewing child pornography and would delete or walk away from it. He said he had tried to stop viewing porn several times and thought it was fair to compare his attraction to it as an addiction.
Schemmel told agents he thought his child porn activities were fantasy and that he would never hurt a child.
Schemmel was the International Baccalaureate program coordinator at Terry Parker since February 2017. Prior to that, he was a social studies teacher at Ponte Vedra High School and was head coach of that school's Model United Nations team, leading it to two state championships, according to his Duval County Public Schools online biography.
Schemmel had also previously worked at Ed White High School.
Schemmel, of Ormond Beach, was also sentenced to a 10-year term of supervised release and ordered to register as a sex offender upon his release.