Marie-Jo Gordo, Orange County, Florida art teacher filmed 28 videos with former 8th grade student, now faces up to 90 years jail if convicted. Victim’s mom discovered intimate footage on her son’s phone.
A former Florida art teacher faces up to 90 years jail after police discovered 28 videos of her having sex with an 8th grade student. The nearly 30 videos were allegedly filmed in a car, a hotel and other locations across three counties, according to a criminal complaint.
Marie-Jo Gordo, 29, faces three counts of sexually exploiting a minor and federal child p*rn*graphy charges, according to a criminal complaint filed on Oct. 25.
Gordo entered a plea of not guilty on Jan. 8 via a signed waiver and is scheduled to appear in an Orlando court on Jan. 18. Phillip Arroyo, Gordo’s attorney, could not be reached at press time to comment on the charges.
Mom discovers intimate videos
The female educator has been free on bond since her October arrest, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department stated.
Approximately 28 videos of Gordo and the boy ‘engaged in sexual activity’ were found on their phones after the boy’s mother contacted the Orange County Sheriff’s Office about the alleged abuse in September, 2023, WESH reported. The Orange County Digital Forensics Unit determined the location where the videos were taken using metadata.
Before resigning in June, Gordo was employed at an Orange County charter school that was not named in court documents. Since then, she had been hired as an art teacher at another school in the county, also unnamed, where she taught students ranging from kindergarten to eighth grade, ClickOrlando reported.
The boy was a student in her eighth-grade class in 2019, court documents showed. Gordo was also his religious ambassador at the school, he told police.
90 years jail
After reviewing the videos, an FBI task force officer working with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office interviewed the student.
The student told detectives that he and Gordo had been meeting at hotels and in his former teacher’s car between June and September 2023, where their trysts were filmed.
Deputies stated Gordo appeared to be responsible for the recordings, sending several of the videos to the boy’s phone.
A warrant was issued compelling Gordo to unlock her Apple iPhone 11 and any other personal devices for police examination – it is unclear whether further evidence was obtained from her device.
If convicted, Gordo faces up to 30 years in prison per count — a maximum sentence of 90 years for all three counts.
