Disgraced Jacksonville teacher faces prison term of up to 40 years for grooming

A former teacher at a Jacksonville arts school could be in prison for decades for misdeeds in the classroom.

State Attorney Melissa Nelson announced that Jeffrey Clayton, formerly of Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, “has pleaded guilty to the court to two Offenses Against Students by Authority Figures; Indecent, Lewd, or Lascivious Touching of Certain Minors; and Unlawful Use of Two-Way Communications Device, all related to his job as a high school teacher.”

The 65-year-old could go to prison for up to 40 years, or as few as three years. His fate will be finalized at a June sentencing hearing officiated by Judge Tatiana Salvador.

Per the State Attorney’s Office (SAO), in March 2023, a then-16-year-old student had a “one-on-one singing lesson” with Clayton, where the teacher “sat next to the student and professed his romantic feelings for her before he rubbed her thighs and leaned in to kiss her multiple times.”

“The victim confided in a friend about the incident, which led to a Department of Children and Families representative and Clay County Sheriff’s Office deputy visit to the student’s home, which then alerted the victim’s parents. The Duval County School Board Police then became involved,” the SAO notes.

Police set up a “controlled call” between the perpetrator and the victim later that month, where he further incriminated himself regarding the classroom incident and detailed “future romantic gestures he wanted to pursue.”

The victim provided police text messages, and other female students detailed their own interactions with him. Some of them will provide impact statements ahead of sentencing.

The plea deal comes amid ongoing scrutiny of the high school, the school district, and even the Jacksonville Mayor’s Office, with Sen. Clay Yarborough leading the charge for transparency regarding an investigation of actions perpetrated by Clayton and others.

While Jacksonville’s Office of General Counsel commissioned an investigation via a private law firm, a representative of Mayor Donna Deegan has said that report, funded by taxpayers, will not be released to the public given ongoing litigation.

Yarborough, who is calling state attention to the issue, has concerns about many aspects thereof.

Particular among them: the failure to make public the investigation given this pattern of problems at the magnet school.

“For DCPS and the City’s Office of General Counsel to delay the release of the taxpayer-funded investigation report related to the 2023 scandal suggests more wrongdoing is being hidden. Parents are demanding answers and our students deserve better. Where is the transparency? Today’s news does not cure the ongoing pattern of inappropriate sexual issues at the school. Ignoring years worth of symptoms brought us to what happened today and it is only one part,” Yarborough said.

“Waiting until after hiring another new Superintendent or until after this year’s School Board elections to release the investigation report will only make matters worse. The District and City have an opportunity right now to start dealing with the chronic problems. Will they choose to do so or look the other way is the question. Also, it is unknown whether the district responded to the federal lawsuit filed 11/11/23 by a former DA student.”