Former Jacksonville educator accused of sexually abusing student used ‘Vanish Mode,’ Cash App to communicate: police

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – 7/30 UPDATE: In a social media post on Wednesday evening, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said it has reason to believe that there are additional victims who were sexually abused by James Tellis.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact JSO at 904-630-0500, or email JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org

Disturbing new details have been revealed in the criminal case against a now-former dean of students at IDEA River Bluff Charter School in Arlington.

According to arrest reports, James Tellis, 27, was charged with multiple felonies involving the alleged sexual assault of a minor that is believed to have occurred between the 2023/2024 school year at a public charter school within KIPP Jacksonville Public Schools, where he was an English teacher at the time.

On Nov. 15, 2024, police said they were sent to the student’s home, where she revealed the details and context surrounding the incident.

According to Tellis’s arrest report, the student stated that in March of the school year, Tellis, through Instagram messaging, attempted to bribe her with food and offered to tutor her for a class they were failing.

As the week progressed, the student told police that one day, Tellis led them into an empty room where he committed the alleged sexual abuse.

They also told police they were either 11 or 12 years old at the time.

Police say Tellis, despite the absence of an official report documenting the alleged interaction between him and the student, transferred from the charter school after sending the student $45 on Cash App and attempting to talk with them about the incident one week later.

The victim, according to police, said that she did not wish to continue communicating with Tellis, and hadn’t spoken with him in over two years, the report says.

On Dec. 2, 2024, a few weeks after the victim spoke with police, she, under police supervision, sent Tellis a message on Instagram, which was responded to immediately, the report states.

“[The victim] sent Tellis a message via the same Instagram account she knew to be his and used to communicate with him two years prior,” police wrote. “The account name was ”jamestellis” and the profile photo was of Tellis that [the victim] recognized."

After sending two messages, which read “Hey” and “What u doin,” Tellis replied, “Hey” and “At work how bout you.”

The conversation continued, and police say they were able to capture most of the messages; however, officers add that Tellis used a feature on Instagram that allows sent messages to disappear once they are read by the recipient, known as “Vanish Mode,” which they say made it difficult to record everything.

Still, police said they were still able to retrieve “most” of the messages sent with the “Vanish Mode” feature and submitted them into evidence.

Through Instagram, police say Tellis and the victim discussed the sexual assault mentioned earlier, while adding that Tellis also talked about traveling to engage in sexual activity with the victim, according to the report.

“Some of the statements included [the victim] asking Tellis if he still felt ‘the same way’ about wanting to do ‘all those things’ he said. He acknowledged that he still felt that way,” police wrote.

The police report provides details about a series of disturbing and explicit messages that were sent by Tellis, and on Dec. 2, police read him his Miranda Rights and placed him in custody for further questioning.

During questioning, police say Tellis suggested that multiple people, including his wife, had access to his Instagram account and that the account was hacked, although they add that he didn’t provide any details of how he was hacked.

Police said Tellis also used the phrase “Vanish Mode” before the phrase was mentioned by interviewing officers, saying, ”I’ve never used it," and “If I were to hack into someone’s account, I would use Vanish Mode. That’s what I would do.”

Officers add that when they mentioned that they had copies of Tellis’s inappropriate conversation with the victim, he requested an attorney.

Tellis is charged with sexual battery, offenses against students by authority, soliciting a child via computer, and unlawful use of a two-way communications device.

Furthermore, police stated that Tellis’ Instagram data revealed at least three CyberTips submitted by Meta (the company that owns Facebook and Instagram) to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and additional information regarding unrelated investigations involving three potential female victims (ages 11-17) of sexual exploitation and two potential male victims of voyeurism (ages 10-13).

Police note that none of the information has been verified, and are continuing their investigation into material not specifically related to the victim of this case.

Tellis’ wife, who is also a teacher, said she would not speak to the police or participate in the investigation.

IDEA Public Schools provided this statement to News4JAX regarding the matter:

On the morning of July 26, IDEA Jacksonville was made aware of the off-campus arrest of an employee in connection with an alleged incident involving a minor. There is no indication that the incident involved an IDEA scholar. The employee was immediately terminated, and we are fully cooperating with law enforcement.  The safety of our students is our highest priority. Any conduct that compromises that safety is unacceptable and will be met with swift action. While we cannot share further details due to the ongoing investigation, we have taken all appropriate legal steps. All IDEA employees undergo thorough state and federal criminal background checks and must pass to gain employment. Even so, ongoing vigilance, accountability, and a culture of safety remain essential. We remain committed to maintaining a safe and supportive learning environment.

IDEA Public Schools

KIPP Jacksonville Public Schools also sent a statement, which read:

Mr. Tellis was employed by KIPP Jacksonville Public Schools from October 20, 2022, until he resigned on February 24, 2024. Mr. Tellis underwent all the required state and federal criminal background screenings prior to his employment at KIPP Jacksonville.

This is an ongoing law enforcement investigation, and we intend to cooperate fully with the authorities if called upon. At this time, we do not have any indication if the incident involved a student at KIPP Jacksonville Public Schools. Our priority remains providing a safe and supportive learning environment for every student at KIPP Jacksonville.

KIPP Jacksonville Public Schools