Former teacher appears in court on sex charges

A former West Boca elementary teacher wanted on child-sex charges in Canada appeared in federal court Wednesday — a first step toward extraditing him from South Florida.

Owen Headley, 55, had once worked as a fifth-grade teacher at Hammock Pointe Elementary School, though he hasn’t been there for more than a year, officials said.

Headley hid in a bedroom and refused to come out when authorities converged on a Delray Beach home Wednesday. They arrested him on a warrant from Canada on charges of sexual assault, incest and sexual exploitation of minors, according to Manny Puri, an assistant chief deputy marshal in the southern district of Florida.

Headley is being detained without bond amid concerns he might flee and pose a danger to the community.

Additional details about the allegations against Headley weren’t available.

Palm Beach County School District spokeswoman Kathy Burstein issued a statement to clarify Headley’s employment status. “He was on personal leave from August to November 2017; upon his return from leave, he was reassigned to a position where he had no contact with students,” Burstein said by email.

“To be clear: Mr. Headley has not been in a classroom for more than a year.”

When Headley appeared in federal court Wednesday morning in South Florida, he showed up without a lawyer, even though he said he had one. He’ll be back in court Friday so the judge can talk to his lawyer. There also will be a pretrial detention hearing next Thursday.

Headley’s arrest was the result of efforts by the Canadian authorities, the Palm Beach County School Police and the U.S. Marshals Service, Puri said.