NORTH HOLLYWOOD : Teacher Charged Over Nude Photos

A former North Hollywood special education teacher was charged with child annoying and contributing to the delinquency of a minor Monday after she allegedly lured a 7-year-old girl into a nude photo session, said the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.

Joy Adele Covalt, 58, admitted to police she had taken pictures of the girl in various stages of undress and had had the girl take pictures of her, said Deputy City Atty. Deborah Sanchez, who is prosecuting the case.

Although Covalt and the girl never appeared in the same frame in any of the 22 pictures, Covalt made the child take pictures of her topless in an adult diaper, a thong bikini and completely nude, Sanchez said. Covalt also took pictures of the girl in the nude, Sanchez said.

The girl was visiting a relative in Covalt’s Los Feliz neighborhood when the alleged photo session occurred in August, Sanchez said. “The child went over to (Covalt’s) house by herself,” said Sanchez. “She had known her since she was a small child.”

Covalt was a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District and was working up until Friday as a substitute at Van Ness Elementary School in Los Angeles. When the alleged photo session occurred, place, Covalt was employed by Lomen Special Education Center in North Hollywood, said Sanchez.

Police were alerted to the pictures after the film was taken to a Thrifty’s to be developed and a film processor reported the nude photographs, Sanchez said.

Covalt was not arrested and will be booked after she is arraigned Jan. 4 in Los Angeles Municipal Court, Sanchez said. Police said they found additional evidence in Covalt’s home during their investigation. Covalt could be sentenced to up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.