Courtesy of The Florida Times-Union
JSO mugshot of Christopher Bacca.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The trial date for a former Duval County Teacher of the Year candidate who was arrested in July on child sex battery charges has been set.
Christopher Bacca's case has been set for trial for the week of Dec. 10, according to Jackelyn Barnard with the State Attorney's Office.
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Bacca also has two pre-trial dates set for Oct. 25 and Dec. 6. He has hired private counsel, Barnard said. His alleged victim's family has also hired an attorney.
Bacca began working for the school district in 2008 when he was hired as
a fourth grade teacher at Long Branch Elementary School. He transferred
to Windy Hill Elementary School in January 2010 and was a Duval County
Teacher of the Year candidate in 2012, as well as Windy Hill's Teacher of the Year.
He was officially terminated by the Duval County School Board in August.
Information released by the Duval County Public School district after Bacca was arrested detailed an incident reported in October 2009 alleging an
inappropriate relationship between Christopher Bacca and a student. At the time, Bacca was a 4th grade teacher at Long Branch Elementary, according to DCPS spokeswoman Jill Johnson.
Johnson said the district is expediting its examination of its human resources policies. Johnson said the examination is not being done specifically due to the
allegations against Bacca but has been ongoing for several months.
He remains in the Duval County Jail and his total bond was initially set for $750,000, but he is now ineligible for bond, jail records show.
First Coast News