A trans and queer activist couple who are substitute teachers for a Tennessee school district were recently busted for prostitution in Tennessee following an undercover sting by police.
Ezra Fry, 22, and David Acevedo, 25, were cited in late August when Chattanooga Police Department narcotics and detectives went undercover in a prostitution case.
The couple was arrested after Fry led the undercover officer into the bedroom and received money for the sexual transaction.
“I don’t care, everyone saw my (soldiers),” Fry allegedly told an officer.
WTVC Fry told authorities that the couple had been in the business for several years as a way to make extra money. Both were substitute teachers at Hamilton County schools this year.
Ezra Fry, 22 (left) and their husband David Acevedo, 25 (right) were detained by undercover officers in Chattanooga, Tennessee in August on charges of prostitution following an undercover sting
The couple both worked as special education teachers in the Hamilton school district. Acevedo was suspended without pay on August 29, pending an investigation. It’s unclear whether Fry has been suspended, but Hamilton County spokesman Steve Doremus told WTVC that “he understands” they have not worked as a substitute teacher since late August.
When the couple was caught by undercover officers and detectives during a prostitution sting, they told authorities they were involved in the business so they could make extra money for themselves.
A police report reveals that an officer posing as “John” contacted Fry through an “illegal prostitution website” to arrange a sexual tryst.
The officer revealed that Fry – who is transgender and uses their pronouns – had invited the undercover officer to their home because he was a new client.
They claimed they would feel safer in the home where their husband, where Acevedo waited.
Fry led the officer to the back bedroom and took $150 from him after they told him what they would and would not do. ‘John’ then identified himself as an officer and detained the couple.
Officers also found “a large amount of drug paraphernalia” in the home, along with a .22 caliber revolver, the report said.
The report found that both Acevedo and Fry said “they had to do this or they will starve.”
Acevedo and Fry were both issued citations for unlawful drug paraphernalia, prostitution and promoting prostitution, unlawful possession of a firearm and possession.
The couple both worked as special education teachers in the Hamilton school district.
Acevedo was a teacher at Calvin Donaldson Elementary School and Fry was a teacher at Woodmere Elementary.
Acevedo was suspended without pay on August 29, pending an investigation.
This isn’t the first time Fry has come under scrutiny in the school district, as a photo of them was circulated online by parents and community members in April. The post said Fry told his students to call them “ma’am,” which angered parents
Many angry parents and community members lashed out at Fry after someone took to social media claiming Fry told their students to call them “ma’am.” Fry has since denied telling the students to call them by their titles
It’s unclear whether Fry has been suspended, but Steve Doremus, a spokesman for Hamilton County schools, told WTVC that “he understands” they have not worked as a substitute teacher since late August.
This isn’t the first time Fry has come under scrutiny in the school district, as a photo of them was circulated online by parents and community members in April, according Conservative Tennessean.
In the photo, Fry is seen wearing a long black dress with spaghetti straps, a gray long sleeve underneath, bright pink hair and a medical boot.
The caption read, “This is a male substitute teacher at East Ridge Elementary today. Pray for this person that they find the help they need, but make sure the kids call you “ma’am.” and it is not acceptable to have this person in a school leading children, Hamilton County.”
Other angry parents and Tennesseans spoke out about Fry’s photo online.
‘Parents received no warning and no ‘opt-out’. Also read the statistics at this school. Only 18 percent read at grade level. Can we stop the madness and just teach our children to read, write and do math?
Maybe the love of learning would actually return to them,” said one commenter.
Another said: ‘My children wouldn’t return to that school either!’
Resident Mark Caldwell also responded to the post about Fry, saying, “For the record, I believe the way an adult chooses to ‘identify’ is their personal business, but it becomes all our business when they make that identity public to take care of their identity. young children with their identity disorders.’
It is unclear whether the couple will have to appear in court. In an Instagram post from the couple three weeks ago, Fry said: ‘Life has been hectic but it’s so nice to be surrounded by so much love amidst the chaos’
Acevedo (photo) and Fry were both issued citations for unlawful drug paraphernalia, prostitution and promoting prostitution, unlawful possession of a firearm and possession
The Tennessee Conservative reported that the Hamilton County superintendent was notified of the incident and investigated why it “had to happen.”
“Fry said claims of being a transgender woman are false and asked students to call them ‘Ezra’ to avoid confusion,” Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.
It is unclear whether the couple will have to appear in court.
In an Instagram post from the couple three weeks ago, Fry said: “Life has been hectic, but it’s so nice to be surrounded by so much love amid the chaos.”