A fifth-grade teacher at Ocala Christian Academy was arrested after he was accused of taking photographs up the skirt of a student during recess last week, according to the police department.

In a release, police said they first received a report about the incident on Tuesday from concerned parents, who said it happened on Friday.

Police identified the teacher as 34-year-old Joel Gould.

“A witness told police they saw Gould hold his phone underneath a student’s skirt while the student stood on a picnic table beside him,” the release reads. “The student later reported feeling something touch her leg several times and realized it was Gould’s phone with the camera pointed upward.”

After hearing this information, police said they interviewed Gould, who admitted to taking photographs underneath the child’s skirt.

As a result, Gould was arrested and now faces a charge of digital voyeurism — upgraded to a second-degree felony due to his position of authority over the student.

NEWS 6 SPEAKS WITH PARENT

Brittany Torres, whose son was in Gould’s class two years ago, said she saw the news of his arrest and felt sick because she had been raising red flags about him for years.

“I wanted to throw up,” Torres said. “I immediately got goosebumps because I have been speaking about this man for the past two years that something was not right.”

Torres said Gould took an unusual interest in her daughter, who was not even in his class. She recalled a moment during recess that struck her as alarming.

“Like the girls would be at recess talking about boys. And he interrupted the conversation once and said, ‘Well, you know, daughter, L, is not allowed to have a boyfriend,’” Torres said. “I thought it was weird he singled her out.”

She also noticed a pattern in how Gould treated students differently based on gender.

“All of the students would joke about how he gave preference to the girls,” Torres said. “The boys would get in trouble for everything — for doodling, for getting out of their seat, for snacking. But he would allow the girls to get away with a lot.”

Torres says she tried to report her concerns, but nothing came of it.

SCHOOL’S RESPONSE AFTER ARREST

After Gould’s arrest, the school sent an email to parents stating that nothing is more important than the safety of children entrusted to their care. Gould was fired and is no longer allowed on church or school property.

Records show the school’s principal had previously attempted to report concerns to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office but was told there was not enough evidence to proceed — meaning Gould remained in the classroom with students for several more days before his arrest. It is unclear how that determination was made.

The arrest report says the principal contacted Paul Bloom with the sheriff’s office, and while that is true, he’s on the school’s board of directors, so he was telling them that the school can’t do anything and to report it to Ocala police.

Meanwhile, detectives are also concerned there may be other victims.

Anyone with information about Gould or who may have experienced inappropriate contact involving him is urged to contact the police department at (352) 369-7000.