BALDWIN, Fla. — A teacher accused of an inappropriate relationship with a student pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning to charges he’s facing in Duval County court.
Action News Jax told you in May when James Mulvey, who taught at Baldwin Middle-Senior High School, was arrested on a charge of Offenses Against Students by Authority Figures.
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Court records show Mulvey is now facing a charge of Unlawful Use of a Two-Way Communications Device. He pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Action News Jax also told you in May about the “Mulvey files,” reportedly by a student at the school. Duval County Public Schools did not verify the authenticity of the emails.
The emails, which appear to be sent between district-issued school accounts, show conversations spanning from May 13 through May 19. In the messages, Mulvey appears to send birthday wishes to the student, while other exchanges show the student venting about her relationship with her mother.
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Throughout the documents, the student repeatedly refers to Mulvey as “dad,” while Mulvey refers to the student as “daughter.” The messages also contain multiple exchanges of “I love you.”
The first page of the files describes Mulvey as a “father figure” during his time at the high school.
In June, Action News Jax told you about the arrest of Baldwin Middle-Senior High School Principal Michael Townsend on a charge of child abuse.
Townsend’s arrest warrant details several instances when he was made aware of the inappropriate behavior between Mulvey and one of his students.
Students said Townsend “claimed to have already handled the situation.”
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However, when investigators spoke with the victim’s mother, she told them that Townsend “never contacted her and that she had never personally spoken with Mulvey.”
Duval County court records show that Townsend entered a plea of not guilty on July 1. His next court date is scheduled for August 3.
Mulvey’s next court date is set for August 18 at 9 a.m.
Both Mulvey and Townsend are out of jail on bond.
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