A former substitute teacher in Miami-Dade County received a 25-year state prison sentence on Monday after pleading guilty to providing drugs to seven female students in exchange for sexual favors.
Enreeka Nalasco, 35, admitted to human trafficking of a minor, lewd and lascivious activity with a victim under 16, and lewd and lascivious battery as part of a plea agreement.
The sentence mandates that Nalasco serve a minimum of 15 years behind bars, followed by 20 years of sexual predator probation. He is also barred from using social media and is prohibited from having any contact with his victims, who ranged in age from 12 to 16.
During the sentencing hearing, a statement from one of the victims was read aloud by the state, conveying the profound impact of Nalasco’s actions. “Everything he has done, not only to me, but all of us little girls, he does not deserve to get out,” the statement emphasized.
Nalasco offered an apology to his victims in court. “I take accountability and apologize to everyone I hurt,” he stated. “I’m sorry. I hope they can forgive me.”
According to an arrest report from May 2022, Nalasco targeted female students at Nautilus Middle School in Miami Beach, supplying them with drugs and vape pens in exchange for cash or sexual favors.
The investigation revealed that Nalasco was previously employed as a substitute teacher at Miami Beach Senior High School but was terminated in 2018 following an internal investigation that found he had inappropriately contacted a student via social media.
Authorities were alerted to the latest accusations against Nalasco in March 2022. The arrest report detailed how several students informed Miami-Dade Schools Police that Nalasco, known to them as “Swaggy,” had befriended them on Snapchat and subsequently began selling them vape pens, marijuana, marijuana cards, and nicotine.
The students reported that Nalasco would accept either sexual favors or cash as payment. While some girls refused his advances, authorities stated that Nalasco sexually battered at least one 12-year-old student, received nude photos from another, and sent a video of himself masturbating to yet another student.
As of Monday morning, Nalasco was being held at the Miami-Dade County Pre-Trial Detention Center. Neither the victims nor their families were present at the hearing, although prosecutors confirmed they were informed of the terms of Nalasco’s plea deal. Had the case proceeded to trial and resulted in a conviction, Nalasco could have faced a life sentence.
