The color guard instructor for the Plant City High School marching band was arrested Sept. 13, on charges of lewd exhibition and indecent exposure.
According to Polk County Sheriff’s Office reports, Abraham Sabastine Jarrell, 27, of Lakeland, and charged him with two counts of lewd exhibition on a child under 16 (second-degree felony) and two counts of indecent exposure (first-degree misdemeanor).
Three separate victims contacted the Sheriff’s Office between noon and 2:36 p.m. Sept. 10, to report seeing a white male subject masturbating from within his vehicle. All three victims were juvenile victims; two were 14 years old and the third was 17 years old. All three were male. The first incident occurred at Lakeland Highlands Road and Broken Arrow Trail; the second incident occurred near the Groveglen subdivision, on Lakeland Highlands Road; and the third incident occurred in the parking lot near Peterson Road and Lakeland Highlands Road. The last two incidents both occurred near George Jenkins High School at dismissal time, reports stated.
All three victims described the suspect as being a white male, mid 20s to late 30s, sandy blond hair, possibly collar length, possibly wearing lightly tinted wire-framed glasses. He wore a grey sleeveless T-shirt and no clothing on his lower body. All three victims described the vehicle as being a white late 80s through mid-90s Toyota four-door.
During the investigation, detectives received information that Jarrell owned a 1994 Toyota Tercel. Detectives made contact with Jarrell at his residence, and he admitted to “fondling” himself while in his car in the Lakeland Highlands Road area.
In April 2013, a 16-year-old male victim reported a similar incident he observed on Southern Avenue in Lakeland. Detectives have identified Jarrell as the suspect in that incident, as well.
“We believe there may be other children this suspect has targeted, and we are asking the public to contact us with any information about those crimes,” Sheriff Grady Judd said.
Plant City High Band Director Jackie Worley said Jarrell was terminated immediately from the band boosters organization, and she plans to hold a meeting with parents and students on Monday.
“We are all just as shocked and hurt by this as the rest of the community,” Worley said. “Abraham has worked with the band color guard for almost two years and was a level three volunteer. This means that like all of my staff, he had gone through rigorous background checks before being allowed to work with children. He was always at every rehearsal and performance, and until Tuesday, never called in sick.
“My heart is aching for my students because, while he committed a disgusting, unforgivable act, they have done nothing wrong,” she said. “My color guard students have worked unbelievably hard this season. Our numbers have grown from just six in 2011, to over 30. What scares me the most are parents threatening to remove their students from this wonderful program because of this news. I want to assure them all that my band parent board, my principal and I are all working as hard as possible to replace him with an instructor who can finish out this season.
“My heart goes out to the boys who witnessed this act in Lakeland,” Worley said. “I obviously would never purposefully employ a known offender. However, we will still most likely be speaking with all of our girls on color guard to make sure that they were never victimized in the past while under his direction. My top priority is their safety and making sure that they get the emotional support they need through this time.”
In addition to his work at Plant City High School, Jarrell was an occasional guest teacher and choreographer at Highland School of Dance. He also has worked with the Lakeland Community Theatre as a choreographer, was a faculty member and dancer employed by Florida Dance Theatre and also worked as a color guard instructor at Haines City High School.
Lewis Amis, father of Hayley Amis Stewart, Highland owner and director, said Jarrell will not be invited back to Highland “under any circumstances.”