TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A theater director has been arrested for the online solicitation of a minor for sexual activity, child abuse and battery, police said.
Charles Bayley Poole Jr., 41, of Sunrise, was released from the Leon County Detention Center on a $15,500 bond on Wednesday, the day he was arrested.
The Tallahassee Police Department investigator said that the 16-year-old victim and Poole initially had an appropriate mentor-like relationship but he apparently developed a romantic and sexual infatuation with her.
The victim's mother said some of the illegal activity, inappropriate touching, occurred in December 2017, according to a probable cause affidavit. The victim told her mother about the incidents on Jan. 31, 2018, but at that time was not ready to speak to law enforcement.
Several hundred emails were exchanged between the victim and Poole, the court documents said.
In the emails, Poole said he was in love with the victim and wanted to marry her. Inappropriate topics he discussed with her included his dreams about French kissing her and his sexual practices.
The victim typically only responded to Poole regarding non-romantic topics of conversation, court documents said, and told him he was making her uncomfortable and she saw him only as a mentor and friend.
The TPD investigator wrote that "It was apparent that Poole was manipulating the victim and making arrangements to have a sexual relationship with her."
A person who spoke to the TPD investigator about Poole said Poole would be "touchy" and hug the female theater participants.
That person said Poole would spend time with the adult and juvenile females in private, causing some concern that he was romantically involved with them.
Poole would often meet with theater members privately, that person said, claiming to work on writing plays, and had a cycle:
"... Poole would speak highly of the females, interact romantically with the females, spend time alone with the females, and then suddenly stop speaking to the females, claiming they were 'bad' people and the theater production group didn't need to cast them in plays or interact with them any further."
On Feb. 8, 2018, Poole told a TPD investigator he wanted to make things as easy as possible for the victim's family but declined to make a statement.
The victim told a Children's Advocacy Center case coordinator that she and Poole met at local parks and coffee shops to work on playwriting and that he had her drive him to and from rehearsals.
She said on those occasions and when alone during theater activities Poole would touch her inappropriately and kiss her despite that she did not want "creepy" Poole to do so and he made her uncomfortable.
Florida State University provided investigators copies of Poole's emails sent to the victim.
"Because email correspondence from FSU accounts is considered public record, the emails are retained regardless of whether Poole deleted the emails after learning of the criminal investigation or not," the court document said.
The name of the theater was blacked out of the court documents.
