CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.—A Chattanooga, Tennessee, man who dressed as a woman while teaching elementary school students was recently arrested for prostitution and unlawful possession of drugs, drug paraphernalia, and a gun.
Substitute teacher Ezra Fry was arrested with his husband, David Acevedo—also an elementary school teacher in the area—on Aug. 25 after allegedly soliciting an undercover police officer for prostitution, according to a report from the Chattanooga Police Department.
Hamilton County Schools District spokesman Steve Doremus told The Epoch Times that Mr. Fry hasn’t worked in HCS since Aug. 29. That’s four days after his arrest.
Mr. Acevedo, 25, was suspended on Aug. 29 because of the investigation, Mr. Doremus said.
Commenters identified as parents at the school said he asked young students to call him Mrs. Fry and use “they” as his “preferred pronoun,” The Epoch Times confirmed.
Mr. Fry was hired to teach in Chattanooga schools by ESS, Mr. Doremus said.
ESS is described on its website as specializing “in placing qualified staff in daily, long-term, and permanent K-12 school district positions, including substitute teachers, paraprofessionals, and other school support staff.”
Mr. Fry is a 22-year-old man who identifies as nonbinary, according to a report from the Chattanooga Police Department (CPD).
In addition to charges of prostitution, Mr. Fry and Mr. Acevedo were charged with misdemeanors—possession of unlawful drugs, drug equipment possession, and unlawful possession of a firearm, according to the report.
In Tennessee, misdemeanor charges can carry up to 11 months and 29 days of jail time and a fine of up to $2,500.
Chattanooga Police narcotics and vice detectives teamed up with agents of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to make the arrests as part of an “undercover sting operation,” according to the CPD report.
Chattanooga Child Educators
ESS assigned Mr. Fry to work as a substitute teacher at Woodmore Elementary School in Chattanooga, Mr. Doremus said. A person who answered the phone at ESS declined to comment.Mr. Acevedo taught special education at Chattanooga’s East Lake Elementary School until he was transferred to Calvin Donaldson Elementary School on Aug. 3, then suspended after his arrest, Mr. Doremus confirmed.
The men were arrested after a female undercover officer connected with Mr. Fry through a prostitution website, according to the CPD report. Mr. Fry allegedly sold the officer sexual services at his house for money, the police department report said.
“Upon entry into the residence, Fry led the undercover officer to a back bedroom where she [Fry] was given the agreed upon money for sexual activity,” the report reads.
Mr. Fry’s husband was present at the time of the arrest, the report said.
“I don’t care, everyone has seen my [genitalia],” Mr. Fry allegedly told the police officer before the officer revealed her true identity and the sting operation, the report said.
Officers then arrested the pair and searched the house, the report said. They found “drug paraphernalia,” marijuana, and a revolver, the CPD report said.
Both men were charged with unlawful possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, and unlawful possession of a firearm. Mr. Fry also was charged with prostitution, and Mr. Acevedo was charged with promoting prostitution.
Mr. Fry and Mr. Acevedo told officers that “they have to do [prostitution] or they will starve,” according to the CPD report.
They told police officers they were working as special education teachers at Woodmore Elementary and Calvin Donaldson Elementary at the time of their arrests, the report said.
Mr. Fry also told officers that he had been a prostitute for several years, the report said.
Though some parents had expressed concern on social media earlier in the year about Mr. Fry’s behavior around students, others, including Chattanooga’s chapter of Moms for Social Justice, announced their support.
“How a person dresses or the name they go by does not make them fair game for harassment and/or bullying,” the group posted on Facebook on April 19, coming to the defense of Mr. Fry.
“Our whole community steps up to support our schools as substitutes, and we desperately need them. Calling someone a nickname or preferred name doesn’t mean you subscribe to anything except respect and dignity.”
The Epoch Times reached out to Moms for Social Justice for comment after Mr. Fry’s arrest but did not receive a response.
In May, when The Epoch Times asked Hamilton County Schools about Mr. Fry’s way of presenting himself at school, Mr. Doremus responded in an email that school employees must “dress professionally.”
HCS posts a policy on its website announcing its commitment to provide a workplace “free from discrimination and harassment on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or appearance, race, national origin, color, creed, religion, age, marital status, or disability.”
