A former preacher and Newberry Education First board member has been arrested and charged with multiple counts of possession of child pornography.
The charges arose from an investigation that began after Joel Bruce Searby, 48, engaged in inappropriate conversations with a juvenile through Snapchat.
According to the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, Searby communicated with the juvenile, sharing explicit details of a past sexual experience he had as a minor and requesting the child send him inappropriate images.
Searby also sent the juvenile suggestive photos of himself in his underwear, urging the child to keep their conversations secret.
Searby was arrested on June 20 and charged with two counts of obscene communication, one count of lewd and lascivious behavior, and one count of using a two-way communication device to commit a felony.
At the time of his arrest, Searby was actively involved in the Yes Newberry initiative, which was aimed at converting Newberry public schools into charter schools.
Joel Searby also served as the executive director of the Forward Party and had worked with former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, the party's Founding Co-Chair.
The investigation escalated on June 20, when detectives took control of the juvenile's account and arranged a meeting with Searby, who believed he was still communicating with the child.
Before the meeting, detectives executed a search warrant at Searby’s residence on SW 170th Street, where they seized several electronic devices, including a black Dell laptop.
Later, a forensic analysis of the laptop uncovered 12 files of videos and images containing child sexual abuse material.
The material, which included explicit content involving boys as young as seven years old, was found tied to an account bearing Searby’s name.
As a result, Searby now faces 12 counts of possession of child pornography under Florida Statute 775.0847.2, with possible enhancements due to the explicit severity of the content.
Searby was taken into custody on Friday and is currently being held at the Alachua County Jail without bail. The case remains ongoing as investigators continue to review the available evidence.
A bond hearing is scheduled for Sept. 10 at 1 p.m., where a motion will be heard asking the judge to set bail.
Judge Sean Brewer has already set bail on the new charges at $900,000.
Contact Carlos Alemany at calemany@alligator.org. Follow him on X @clos_alemany
Carlos Alemany is a fourth year political science student and the Alligator's 2024 Criminal Justice Reporter. In his free time, you you may catch him thrifting or sketching in Gainesville.
