*WARNING: The details in this story may be disturbing for some viewers*
UPDATE 4:52 p.m.:
Pena is now facing federal child pornography charges.
According to federal court documents, Pena has been indicted on the following charges:
- 2 counts of Production of Child Pornography
- 1 count of Receipt of Child Pornography
- 1 count of Possession of Child Pornography
The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office says while the police department was handling the other investigation, their agency started working on a federal indictment against Pena.
“The Punta Gorda Police Department considers the safety and protection of our children and students to be our highest priority. Few matters are as serious or as urgent as shielding them from predators like Dagoberto Pena," Sheriff Bill Prummell said in a statement. "We remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring the safety of our community, and we are working tirelessly to bring comfort, justice, and support to the victims and their families affected by this appalling and manipulative abuse of trust."
On July 9, a grand jury indicted the former teacher.
ORIGINAL STORY:
A former 7th grade gym teacher at Punta Gorda Middle School is under arrest, accused of having sex with a student. This comes after charges were filed back in April 2025 for the same crime with another minor.
According to a police report from the Punta Gorda Police Department, the investigation started on April 28, 2025 when a complaint was made against Dagoberto Miguel Pena.
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The report from his first arrest says the mother checked her daughter's phone and discovered inappropriate text messages between the child and Pena. More than 400 text messages were deleted, the report says.
On April 28, the victim admitted to her parents she and Pena had intercourse three times, the last being two months ago.
Through a search of Pena's iCloud data, detectives say they found evidence of another sex crime with a second victim, unrelated to the first investigation.
Detectives say they found a message thread contained sexually explicit conversations from January 2025 to April 2025. In some of the messages, police say a home address was given.
Investigators were able to track down the second victim using the address and the school database.
Through Pena's phone, detectives say they found multiple videos of the second victim and Pena having sex on four known separate days.
Text messages summarized in the police report describe when Pena was going to go to the victim's home and where to park.
On July 2, 2025, police were able to sit down with the second victim, who told police Pena started having a sexual relationship with her in the summer of 2024, when she was 14-years-old.
In total, Pena is now facing the following charges:
- 3 counts of Lewd Lascivious Battery on a victim 12-16 years old
- 2 counts of Traveling to Meet a Minor After Using Computer to Lure Child
- 2 counts of Authority Figure Soliciting Engagement in Sexual Conduct with Student
- Transmission of Material Harmful to Minor Using Computer
- Unlawful Sexual Activity with Certain Minors
- Obscene Communication use Computer to Seduce, Solicit or Lure Child
He was a teacher between August 2023 to April 2025. Charlotte County Public Schools says Pena was also a coach at Charlotte High School.
According to Marshall University, Pena is a native of the Dominican Republic and played basketball at Charlotte High School. The university signed Pena to the basketball team in 2008.
