Guilty plea withdrawn, additional charges added for man facing child molestation charges

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla — 20-year-old Anthony Guadalupe walked into a St. Johns County courtroom Friday morning facing 14 felony counts after pleading guilty to child molestation last year.

Prosecutors say he inappropriately touched children at the Chappell School’s Longleaf Campus in St. Johns County back in 2022.

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However, Guadalupe left court facing seven new life felony charges. Prosecutors tagged on the new counts after Guadalupe withdrew his guilty plea, claiming an intellectual disability.

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Now if Guadalupe is convicted of all 21 counts, he faces a minimum sentence of 103 years in prison. That’s up from the 35 years he was offered as a deal for his guilty plea.

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“One thing Anthony said to me is, you know, it’s like, well, 35 years is like a life sentence anyway,” Guadalupe’s defense attorney Terry Shoemaker explained Friday after court. “[He told me] by the time I would get out if, if I got the 35 years, you know, my family would probably be dead… my mother and father and I’m on my own. And after 35 years in prison, what do I have?”

After that court decision today, parents showed up outside the Chappell School Longleaf campus to protest and call for responsibility from the school itself, while also outlining the bittersweet feeling of today’s withdrawn plea agreement.

“Our kids may have to be on trial. Like it’s just not what we would ever wanted, which is why we settled for the 35 years,” said Stephen Campbell, the father of one of the victims. “But 35 years is not what we wanted in the first place. So it is a little bittersweet.”

Now, Guadalupe’s pre-trial date and next appearance in court will be April 2nd at 1:30 p.m.

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