ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A St. Johns County judge granted a request to withdraw the guilty plea for a former St. Johns County daycare worker who had pleaded guilty to molesting children.
On Thursday, one day before he was set to be sentenced, Anthony Guadalupe’s defense attorney filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea.
Guadalupe is a former St. Johns County employee at Chappell Schools’ Longleaf Campus who pleaded guilty to molesting several children in his care.
Guadalupe signed a plea deal in October that included a dozen charges of lewd and lascivious molestation on a child under 12 years old. In addition to the molestation charges, he also pleaded guilty to two counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition.
With the plea withdrawn, prosecutors will now add seven additional counts of lewd and lascivious acts.
With the guilty plea, the possible sentence was 35 years to life.
Now, the new minimum possible sentence would be 103 years, if he’s found guilty.
Guadalupe spoke in court Friday morning confirming that he wanted to withdraw the plea, understanding that he would face seven more life sentences.
Several parents who were inside the courtroom wearing blue ribbons on Friday said their children were victims and were disappointed with what happened.
William Wesley said Guadalupe molested his 3-year-old daughter and it was caught on surveillance video
“It is an atrocity that no child should ever have to go through. Our daughter, whose innocence and curiosity and wonderment was all taken away,” he said. “We thought that we were going to see justice served today. The delay makes that difficult, but I think we all understand why we have to go through this again.”
RELATED | Former St. Johns preschool employee now facing 12 counts of molestation, 2 counts of lewd exhibition
Warning: The following details are graphic and disturbing.
Documents revealed this case started when:
- The father of a 4-year-old girl told detectives he noticed his daughter was pulling up her underwear as he entered the classroom to pick her up.
- The documents say surveillance video showed Guadalupe fondling the child while appearing to perform a sex act in front of her classmates.
- He was fired and arrested.
Detectives then searched through 3 months’ worth of surveillance video, and that’s what led them to identify seven other child victims.
The parents of the initial 4-year-old child victim filed a lawsuit, and that’s when more victims came forward.
In the defense’s motion, his attorneys argued that Guadalupe is intellectually disabled and didn’t understand what kind of sentence he could receive by taking the plea deal.
The motion also said both his defense and a state psychologist agree Guadalupe is intellectually disabled.
“Guadalupe has always maintained his innocence and only entered his plea due to his mistaken belief that he could continue negotiating” a sentence, the defense said in the motion.
Guadlupe’s family was also in the courtroom and some were seen crying toward the end of the hearing.
Wesley said he tries to have empathy for them but knows he is also fighting for justice.
“We understand that they love their family. They love him. They are trying to protect him and they feel bad for all that is going on. I am sure they feel bad for us as well, but until they understand the severity of the things that is on video of him, doing these things to the children, I think they are defending what they believe is an innocent person,” Wesley said.
Guadalupe is due back in court on April 2 for a final pretrial hearing.
In the wake of the arrest of Guadalupe, three lawsuits were filed by parents of children at the Chappell School. Court records show the first two suits were settled in September and October of 2023, but no terms were disclosed. The third lawsuit was filed in September of 2023 and is still being litigated.
Chappell Schools issued a public statement on Friday that addressed Guadalupe’s arrest.
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.
Chappell Schools
Jesse Angier had a child at school two years ago and he was one of a few people who stood outside the Longleaf Campus on Friday holding signs calling for the school to be shut down.
“Chappell was never clear with us from the beginning, not from Day 1. Their hiring practices are atrocious. They have never reached out to any of the families that I am aware of, not once,” Angier said.