Palm Bay, FL — New details have emerged in the case of Ajani McPherson, a former substitute teacher at Palm Bay Magnet High School, who was arrested on Friday, May 9, 2025, for allegedly sharing a nude photo of himself with a female student. The arrest affidavit paints a disturbing picture of inappropriate communication between McPherson and the student, leading to his arrest and subsequent termination from Brevard Public Schools.
According to the affidavit filed by Detective Thomas Danti of the Palm Bay Police Department’s Special Victims Unit, the incident came to light when the female student, identified only as “J1,” reported receiving an inappropriate message from McPherson, whom she knew as “Coach AJ,” on the night of May 8, 2025. The communication took place over Instagram, where McPherson, using the handle “ajanilimacc,” engaged in a conversation with the student that quickly turned inappropriate.
The affidavit details that the conversation began around 2030 hours on May 8 and initially appeared casual. McPherson asked the student if she was “talking” to anyone, to which she replied that she did not have a boyfriend. McPherson responded that this was good because he “wouldn’t allow that.” When the student asked if McPherson knew her age, he admitted to being aware that she was a minor, stating he was “27.” Despite this knowledge, McPherson proceeded to tell the student he wanted to “be with her” after she was no longer a student at the school.
The conversation took a more alarming turn when McPherson asked the student to change the conversation to “vanish mode,” a feature on Instagram that deletes messages after they are viewed, often used to conceal communication. In this mode, McPherson sent the student a full nude selfie of himself, exposing his penis, which the student reported made her feel “very uncomfortable.” She ignored the message and pretended to be asleep, hoping to end the interaction. The next morning, McPherson continued to message her, but the student did not respond. She later recorded the lewd image from another device before it was deleted, and this evidence was seized by police during the investigation.
