Staff report

ARCHER, Fla. – Joel Bruce Searby, 44, who led the Newberry charter school initiative until his arrest, was sentenced yesterday to 10 years in state prison, followed by ten years of sex offender probation, after pleading to 12 felonies related to sexual crimes against children.

On June 19, 2024, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office received a call about Snapchat messages from Searby to a 15-year-old boy, asking him to come over to his guest house and help him with something. Searby reportedly sent shirtless photos, along with a picture of himself in the shower and messages about his own sexual experiences with an older man when he was in high school. Click here for more information about Searby’s arrest.

On June 10, Searby entered an open plea of nolo contendere to charges of traveling to meet a minor, using a computer to solicit a minor, lewd and lascivious conduct, unlawful use of a two-way communications device, and eight counts of possession of child pornography. Four counts of possession of child pornography were dropped as part of the plea agreement. According to the plea document, the maximum sentence for the charges is 80 years in state prison.

According to Searby’s score sheet, the minimum permissible sentence was 90.6 months.

On June 12, Judge William Davis sentenced Searby to two sentences of 10 years in prison and two sentences of five years in prison on the first four charges, all running concurrently, followed by five years of sex offender probation. Judge Davis added an additional five years of probation, served after the first five years, for the child pornography charges. Searby will also be designated a sexual offender.