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	Plea Deal Called off for Former Teacher Who Admitted to Sexual Contact with Students By Missy Diaz South Florida Sun-Sentinel November 3, 2008 http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-1103teacher-deal-off,0,5480820.story A former Summit Christian School music teacher who has admitted to sexual contact with numerous South Florida boys almost resolved his cases on Monday -- with prosecutors dropping many of the charges -- only to have the plea deal called off because of a technicality. In a negotiated agreement, Chad Stoffel, 32, of Palm Springs, briefly pleaded guilty to lewd and lascivious molestation and battery of a 14-year-old Summit Christian student. In exchange, the state agreed to drop eight additional charges -- four counts each of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and battery of a child -- stemming from allegations involving a 16-year-old Wellington Christian student. The two met performing in a musical version of Cinderella at the Lake Worth Playhouse in fall 2005. The plea deal called for Stoffel to serve five years of probation, two of those on sex offender probation, which carries strict rules prohibiting contact with minors and other restrictions. The sticking point occurred when the prosecutor said that the state would waive for 30 days the requirement that Stoffel not live within 1,000-feet of a school, daycare or playground. Stoffel is moving out of state, according to his lawyer Jeffrey Welt, and will be gone within 30 days. But the residency issue raised a problem with probation officials and Circuit Judge Jonathan Gerber vacated the plea and re-set the case for Nov. 24. Welt hopes the issue will be resolved by the next court date. The state agreed to dismiss the eight-count case involving the Wellington Christian student because the young man would not cooperate, according to prosecutor Phil Wiseberg. The Summit Christian School teen and his mother were satisfied with the terms of the plea, Wiseberg said. "They mostly want to see the defendant get assistance and therapy for any problem he might have," Wiseberg said. According to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office report, in February 2006 a counselor at Love In Action International Inc., a Memphis-based ministry that tries to counsel people "trapped" in homosexuality contacted local authorities and said Stoffel confessed to molesting numerous boys. The counselor said Stoffel also reported himself to the Florida Abuse Hotline. A detective went to Memphis to interview Stoffel, who disclosed his activities with young boys in Palm Beach and Broward counties, dating back 10 or 11 years, according to the report. In the case of the Wellington Christian student, Stoffel told police he and the 16-year-old engaged in sexual contact on four occasions. After the final contact in November 2006, Stoffel said he received a phone call from the boy's father telling Stoffel to turn himself in to his pastor or the man would contact authorities. Stoffel engaged in sexual contact with the 14-year-old four times, according to the report. Stoffel resigned from Summit Christian in December 2005 after 5 ½ years there. When Stoffel was arrested in March 2006, Pembroke Pines police said Stoffel molested two boys there in 1995 but both victims, by then adults, said they didn't want the cases prosecuted. Missy Diaz can be reached at mdiaz@SunSentinel.com or 561-228-5505.
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