In March of 2024, Christopher Chell, a 46-year-old middle school teacher and Athletic Director at St. Patrick's Interparish School located on Northeast 16th Avenue in Gainesville, was arrested and charged with ten counts of lewd or lascivious molestation of a child between 12 and 16 years old. In September of 2024, Chell was sentenced to probation and time served. Chell pleaded no contest in separate cases to one count of felony battery as a repeat offender (he had a prior conviction from 2001) and one count of an authority figure soliciting/engaging in a romantic relationship and was sentenced to five years of probation and time served of 195 days in jail. All other charges, including a related case in which Chell faced 10 counts of lewd or lascivious molestation of a victim older than 12 but less than 16, were dropped. According to amended felony information, Chell was previously convicted of battery in 2001 in Alachua County.
According to media reports, the Gainesville Police Department stated in a press release that their investigation revealed Chell had been accused in February by three sixth-graders of making "inappropriate statements" and "inappropriate touching while hugging them, and that he had gained the trust of several middle school girls, abusing his position as their physical education teacher and coach. Over the course of several months, Chell allegedly engaged in a pattern of behavior that escalated from inappropriate touching to criminal acts.
Details of Christopher Chell's Arrest
According to the sworn complaint against Chell, on February 20, 2024, a seventh-grader at the school reported to the assistant principal, Ryan Michael Clemens, that Chell told her that he could be her "secret boyfriend." When Clemens approached Chell about the incident, Chell denied making the inappropriate comments to the victim. Clemens held a meeting with the victim and Chell, and Clemens said he believed Chell was telling the truth "100%."
A day later, Clemens overheard Chell tell an adult employee at the school that he did tell the victim that he could be her "secret boyfriend" but that he was only "kidding." Days later, Clemens reported the incident to the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and gave the agency false information, minimizing the incident.
Later that week, Clemens received another report from an adult employee about Chell's behavior. The employee told Clemens that Chell had been acting in a manor with a student that made them feel "uncomfortable."
According to court documents, Clemens was approached on February 26 by three sixth-graders who disclosed that Chell had engaged in appropriate behavior with all three of them. This ranged from "inappropriate statements" to "inappropriate touching while hugging them," the sworn complaint says. One of the sixth-grade students said Chell began to tell each of them "I love you" in a way the students described as uncomfortable and "weird," the complaint says. As time went on, one of the students stated she learned to say "I love you" back to Chell, or he would get mad.
One victim said Chell turned hugging into an everyday expectation since September 2023. She stated that Chell would place his hand "very low, like, very, very low" on the victim's back and began to use his entire hand to squeeze the victim's buttocks. Another alleged victim reported similar touching and said that Chell made statements about having control over her athletic and academic careers. The victim said this led her to believe that Chell had a significant amount of control over her, given his power as a teacher and a coach.
Shortly after the claims were reported, Chell was fired and Father Lawrence Peck sent a letter to the families at St. Patrick that Chell will no longer be working at the school after 4.5 years as the Athletic Director and physical education coach. After Chell was fired on February 28, Clemens removed and discarded possible evidence from Chell's office.
Ryan Clemens, 41, was then arrested on charges of child neglect and tampering with evidence, in which all charges were later dropped. Christopher Chell's wife filed for divorce in July of 2024. He is currently serving his sentence in Alachua County jail.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing survivors of sexual abuse. We have handled multiple cases of sexual abuse by authority figures in schools. It is expected that any institutions in which children learn and develop skills offer an environment in which they are safe from violence, bullying, harassment, and sexual abuse. Athletic coaches are entrusted to facilitate learning and support their players' educational and training needs. Anyone who sexually violates children has no place working in the community or school athletic programs. Any organization committing such a crime must take responsibility for failing to properly screen potential coaches and protect their players.
If you or a loved one was sexually abused, assaulted, raped, or molested by a coach, principal, teacher, or other school employees, contact our law firm at 888-283-9922 or send an e-mail to sexual abuse lawyer Adam Horowitz at adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com for a free consultation.