Former Punta Gorda teacher sentenced to an additional 26 years for soliciting a student

Former Punta Gorda Middle School teacher Dagoberto Miguel Pena will serve an additional 26 years on state charges on top of his 60-year sentence on federal charges for soliciting a student.

According to the Punta Gorda Police Department, on May 28, Pena was sentenced to 26 years on Florida state charges, including two counts of lewd battery, two counts of soliciting a student and one count of traveling to meet a minor.

The sentence from the state is in addition to his already-in-place 60-year federal sentence on counts of sexual exploitation of children and activities relating to material constituting/containing child pornography with a lifetime of supervision.

Pena was first arrested in 2025 following an investigation by the PGPD.