‘Disturbing allegations’: Miami-Dade middle school teacher molests 12-year-old, police say
A Miami-Dade teacher found himself in cuffs after the father of a 12-year-old girl discovered he was having an inappropriate, physical relationship with his daughter, authorities said.
Martai McCullough, 26, is facing charges of molestation of a child, lewd and lascivious conduct on a child, lewd and lascivious exhibition on a child and offenses against students by authority figures. As of Wednesday, the Miramar man had bonded out of jail, court records show.
McCullough taught at Horace Mann Middle School in El Portal. He’s been employed by Miami-Dade County Public Schools for the last three years, the district said.
On June 30, a father approached a Miami-Dade Schools police officer and detailed how McCullough was having an inappropriate relationship with his pre-teen daughter, an arrest report read.
His daughter was in McCullough’s class during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic school years.
The young girl told the officer she and McCullough began exchanging post-it notes just before Christmas in 2022. They would say “I love you” and the two would verbally say it to each other as well.
This progressed to him buying her lunch, through delivery apps like UberEats, the report read. She would also skip class to go to his classroom where they would hug each other.
He would eventually move to kissing the 12-year-old and have her sit on his lap, the report read. At the end of the year, they moved to talking through Instagram direct messages. He would ask her for feet pictures.
They would also video chat each other in which McCullough would expose himself, the report read. He sent her several crude and explicit messages about sex acts he wanted to do.
Detectives obtained the post-it notes and screenshots from when McCullough would expose himself.
McCullough was arrested Tuesday afternoon at Horace Mann Middle.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools said it was “deeply troubled by the disturbing allegations made.” It has started the process of firing McCullough and will keep him from being employed with the district.
“This type of comportment will not be tolerated as it runs contrary to the professional conduct we expect from all employees,” the district said in a statement.
Detectives say he confessed to the crimes and noted his relationship with the 12-year-old started “as a fantasy that led to him falling in love with the victim.”
