Newberry Charter School Backer Joel Searby Gets 10 Years

GAINESVILLE – A 44-year-old Archer man was sentenced to 10 years in state prison on June 10, 2025, after pleading no contest to multiple felony charges related to sexual crimes against children.

Joel Bruce Searby, who previously led a municipal charter school initiative in Newberry, was sentenced in Alachua County Circuit Court to 10 years in prison followed by 10 years of sex offender probation. The plea deal stems from a 2024 investigation involving explicit communications with a 15-year-old boy.

According to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation began on June 19, 2024, after deputies received a report about inappropriate Snapchat messages Searby sent to the teen. The messages reportedly included shirtless photos, an image of Searby in the shower, and explicit messages referencing his own past sexual experiences with an older man while in high school.

On June 10, Searby entered an open plea of nolo contendere to 12 felony charges: traveling to meet a minor, using a computer to solicit a minor, lewd and lascivious conduct, unlawful use of a two-way communications device, and eight counts of possession of child pornography. As part of the plea agreement, four additional counts of possession of child pornography were dropped.

According to court documents, Searby faced a potential maximum sentence of 80 years in state prison. His sentencing guideline score sheet indicated a minimum permissible sentence of 90.6 months.

On June 12, Judge William Davis sentenced Searby to two sentences of 10 years in prison and two sentences of five years in prison on the first four charges, all running concurrently, followed by five years of sex offender probation.

Judge Davis added an additional five years of probation, served after the first five years, for the child pornography charges. Searby will also be designated a sexual offender.

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