Former West High paraeducator accused of sexual exploitation of student

An Iowa City man who worked as a paraeducator at West High School for three months was arrested Wednesday and charged with sexual exploitation by a school employee.

Joel Seve Munzila, 22, was arrested on a warrant issued Tuesday. He had his first appearance in court Thursday and was released without bail from the Johnson County Jail.

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According to a criminal complaint, Munzila had a relationship with a student while he was working as a paraeducator. He regularly would ask the student to leave the school during the school day and meet at a predetermined location in a nearby neighborhood. He would take the student to a home in Coralville where they would engage in sexual activity, the complaint states, and then he would drop the student off in a neighborhood near the school.

The student reported to police that this pattern happened about five times between Sept. 20 and Oct. 20, 2023. Munzila denied he ever had the student in his car, but surveillance video obtained by investigators shows him picking the student up near the school, and a Snapchat video shows the two together in his car, the complaint states.

A no-contact order has been issued on behalf of the student.

Munzila worked at West High for the first three months of this school year, according to a letter sent to parents by Principal Mitch Gross. He was removed from his position promptly after the school learned of the allegations against him and the Iowa City Police Department was contacted.

“We understand that this news is concerning. This was an isolated incident involving a single student. We want to assure you that we are committed to maintaining a safe and supportive environment for all our students and staff,” Gross said in the letter.

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