PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. – A former South Florida high school teacher arrested and accused of sex crimes with a student died from suicide.
According to the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office, former Wellington Community High School math teacher, Charles Maglio, 54, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
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The Broward Medical Examiner’s Office told Local 10 News: “The cause of death for Mr. Maglio is ‘Intraoral gunshot wound’ and the manner is suicide”.
Maglio was arrested in September after an alleged sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student.
According to the arrest affidavit, the investigation started last December after flowers were sent to a Tijuana Flats restaurant where the victim worked.
The restaurant manager called the flower shop and said that “the name of Charles Maglio” came up.
He then called the principal at Wellington Community High School, who contacted the victim’s grandmother.
According to the affidavit, the teen “contacted Charles that night, and gave him a heads up about a possible investigation. She said she deleted all their text messages and was sure he did the same.”
When questioned, she said, “I don’t want him to get in trouble. I’m in love with him.”
The teen said she met Maglio at Wellington High School, where she was a student and he was a teacher.
According to the affidavit, she began to visit him in his classroom after school, because she was looking for “a mentor fatherly figure, but it escalated.”
The victim said the pair then began communicating on social media, and then they had sex several times at Maglio’s apartment in Greenacres.
The victim said that she slept over at the apartment several times and left clothes and a toothbrush there.
She said they were both aware that what they were doing was wrong, but said “it feels right” to them.
After the victim was questioned, detectives obtained a warrant to search Maglio’s apartment, where they retrieved clothes worn by the victim.
Months later, detectives then set up a call between the victim and Maglio during which Maglio told the teen that he loved and missed her.
Last month, detectives said test results came back that showed Maglio’s DNA on underwear that was worn by the victim and retrieved from Maglio’s apartment.
Maglio was arrested and charged with unlawful sexual activity with a minor and offense against a student by an authority figure.
Maglio posted $20,000 bond and was released from jail.
The charges against him were dropped by the Palm Beach State Attorney’s Office after his death.