Avossa: ‘Those impacted’ by child-porn case to get facts
Superintendent offers sympathies of district leadership via Twitter.
The thoughts of Palm Beach County school leaders “are with all those impacted” by the case of Corey Perry, a once-admired teacher who killed himself Friday in the wake of child pornography allegations, Superintendent Robert Avossa said.
“I ’ m s ure t he f a c t s wi l l be brought to life soon ...” Avossa said in a statement published on his Twitter page late Friday, a few hours after Perry was found dead at a motel in Nashville, Tenn., near where he was raised.
Perry, a teacher at Howell L. Watkins Middle School in Palm Beach Gardens, was wanted on charges of producing child por- nography that may have included some of his students, the FBI said. On March 24, the school told him he was barred from campus, on MacArthur Boulevard north of Northlake Boulevard, because of the investigation. The same day, FBI agents searched his West Palm Beach home.
Perry was last seen March 26 in Fort Lauderdale. The FBI set a $25,000 reward for his capture on Thursday, one day before Perry killed himself. Investigators tracked him to the Delux Inn about five miles northeast of downtown Nashville, where Tennessee TV stations said he had checked in Wednesday.
The 33-year- old West Palm Beach resident and graduate of Florida A&M University taught science and coached basketball at Watkins. He had been recognized by Gov. Rick Scott for his work in the school’s engineering lab, which is known for its robotics program, and was nominated this year for a Dwyer award, given to the district’s top teachers.
Investigators have been told that Perry at times would pose as a girl when reaching out to young males, sending them nude photos of a young female and asking them to share similar photos of themselves. Authorities have not publicly commented on this allegation.
Distric t officials have asked parents who thought their children may have been contacted by Perry either through social media or over the phone to come forward. Perry also coached youth basketball in recreational pro-