By Associated Press - Tuesday, September 12, 2017

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) - An Arizona elementary school teacher accused of sexual conduct with a 17-year-old girl who’s a foreign exchange student from Sweden has changed his plea to guilty.

Maricopa County Superior Court officials say 36-year-old Joshua Schroder pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of sexual conduct with a minor.

Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 12.



Goodyear police arrested Schroder in February on suspicion of nine counts of sexual conduct with a minor and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Schroder teaches at Rainbow Valley Elementary School and is the coordinator of a foreign exchange student program. He’s been teaching fourth grade for the past decade.

The girl allegedly exchanged more than 600 text messages with Schroder in the span of a month before the relationship allegedly turned sexual.

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