Ex-Teacher Pleads No Contest to Photographing Nude Girl, 7

A former special education teacher at a North Hollywood school, who pleaded no contest Tuesday to charges that she lured a 7-year-old girl into a nude photo session, was ordered to register as a sex offender and stay away from the victim, authorities said.

Joy Adele Covalt, 58, was convicted on one count of child annoying and was placed on three years probation, said Deputy City Atty. Deborah Sanchez.

Covalt will also have to perform 300 hours of community service working with adults and undergo six months of psychological counseling as conditions of probation, Sanchez said.

Covalt admitted to police that she took the pictures and others of the child posing in various stages of undress at her Los Feliz home Aug. 18, according to Sanchez.

The girl, who had been visiting her grandmother next door to Covalt’s home, told police that she also took photos of Covalt in the nude, topless in an adult diaper and in a thong bikini, Sanchez said.

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

The 22 photos of Covalt and the child were on a roll of film the now-retired educator took to a Thrifty’s in Hollywood last Aug. 30, Sanchez said.

After viewing the negatives, a shop employee contacted police and an investigation was launched. Detectives served a search warrant at Covalt’s home, where additional evidence was seized, Sanchez said.