Published on July 15, 2025 at 3:48 pm
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A former teacher has been arrested on two separate charges of molesting children younger than 12, including one at a private school two years ago, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office says.
Gregg Martin Gafford, 42, a former music teacher at multiple local schools, remains jailed on $1 million bond after his arrest late Friday on charges of lewd and lascivious molestation, jail records show.
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Gafford, who lives on the Southside, was working in 2023 at St. Matthew’s Catholic School on the Westside when a child reported being groped during an after-school club, police say. No details were initially released.
Detectives then found out that another student had accused Gafford of sexual abuse back in 2011, while he was teaching at Normandy Village Elementary. The Sheriff’s Office said the male victim in that case reported it in 2024 as an adult.
Task force officers found Gafford late Friday and arrested him on two outstanding warrants. He is scheduled for arraignment Aug. 8, court documents show.
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Diocesan spokesperson Kathleen Bagg said the diocese did a background check on Gafford, and there were no issues. She said the Sheriff’s Office notified St. Matthews School officials in July 2023 that Gafford was under investigation and should not be permitted on school property.
“Although the nature of the investigation was not disclosed, the school took immediate and proactive steps to ensure student safety by placing him on administrative leave. He subsequently resigned,” Bagg said in a statement. “His last day on campus was July 13, 2023.”
The current Diocese of St. Augustine directory also lists Gafford as the organist at the Catholic Basilica of the Immaculate Conception church in Downtown Jacksonville. Bagg said he is not an employee and is no longer at the church.
Gafford remains under investigation, and anyone with information about additional offenses s asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at (904) 630-0500, or email at JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org.
