Brian L. Pavluchuk, 40, stood before a judge in Sarasota County on Friday after authorities charged him with several counts of sexual battery and lewd behavior involving the child of a friend, according to court documents. Investigators say this isn’t the first time Pavluchuk’s name has come up in child abuse cases, as his history stretches back nearly ten years.
Pavluchuk taught at Punta Gorda Middle School. Following his arrest on July 24, Charlotte County Public Schools placed him on administrative leave. “We are deeply troubled by the arrest made today involving a Charlotte County Public Schools employee,” said Claudette Smith, the district’s public information officer.
The case is far from closed. The detectives continue their work and urge anyone with information about this case or anyone else who may have been affected to contact the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office at 941-861-4900.
If convicted, Pavluchuk faces enormous consequences. The charges are severe: three counts of sexual battery by a person aged 18 or older against a child younger than 12. Florida law sets the maximum penalty for these crimes at life in prison or even death.
Court documents say the abuse spanned from 2014 to 2017, when Pavluchuk worked as a Young Marines instructor. Officers from the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Task Force in Fort Myers arrested him on a warrant out of Sarasota County.
Charlotte County Public Schools responded after his arrest, clarifying that none of the alleged abuse took place on school grounds.
They have scheduled Pavluchuk for a formal felony arraignment on September 11.
Click here for more information at sarasotasherrif.org.
