Former South Middle School teacher to plead guilty on child sex charge

A change of plea hearing has been scheduled for 10 a.m. Oct. 3 in U. S. District Court in Springfield for former South Middle School science teacher Charles Dominic Gastel, who is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor.

Gastel had been scheduled for a pre-trial conference Thursday.

According to the indictment issued by a federal grand jury, Gastel, between January 1, 2009, and January 1, 2011, “engaged in sexually explicit conduct” with an underaged girl and made videos of the acts.

Gastel resigned his position with the Joplin R-8 School District at the end of the 2012-2013 school year.An affidavit signed by Detective Tim Williams of the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force indicates Gastel was arrested following an investigation that started with a sexual assault complaint July 15 in Carterville.