INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla. — A middle school teacher from Melbourne was arrested after investigators said he sent and solicited nude pictures from someone who he believed was a 16-year-old girl in Indian River County.
Undercover deputies said they chatted with the suspect, identified as Joseph Michael Komjathy, 40, for about three weeks before he was arrested Monday.
According to an Indian River County arrest warrant, Komjathy identified himself as a retired military veteran and currently a seventh-grade science teacher where he also managed an after-school club with children.
The warrant shows that is a teacher at Stone Magnet Middle School in Melbourne.
Deputies said stated during their conversation that he was OK with her age, was in a troubled marriage that was on the verge of divorce and had a high sex drive.
The warrant goes on to detail a string of graphic messages that investigators said Komjathy sent to the undercover deputy, who he believed was a teen girl.
This included the suspect asking for "naughty photos" to help him with his "fantasies for us" and for "imagination and excitement for what's to come."
Investigators said that he mentioned traveling to Indian River County to meet and engage in sexual activity either in a car or hotel.
"Joseph knew what he was doing was illegal and mentioned in the chat conversation that he was nervous that our interactions had to be planned with 'careful approaches' and at one point he asked if they were affiliated with law enforcement," the warrant stated.
The report stated that Komjathy also sent five nude images of himself during the conversations.
In a post on the Indian River County Sheriff's Office Facebook page, investigators said Komjathy never followed up with meeting the undercover deputy.
However, the warrant said that he sent a photo that showed the exterior of his home along with his car's license plate that they used to locate his residence.
Komjathy faces five counts of transmitting material harmful to a minor by electronic equipment and one count of unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
He is being held on a $300,000 bond.
The sting was part of the South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, a task force that investigates and prosecutes offenders who use the internet to sexually exploit children.