Lang
10/3/25
A former West High School paraeducator has been given a suspended sentence on a sexual exploitation charge involving a student.
23-year-old Joel Munzila was arrested in June of 2024 after investigators determined he had a relationship with a student while he was working at the school. Between September 1st and October 18th, 2023, Munzila would reportedly regularly ask the student to leave the school during the school day and take her to a home in Coralville where they would engage in sexual activity. He would then drop the student off in a neighborhood near the school.
The student told police this happened about five times. When interviewed, Munzila denied ever having the student in his car, but surveillance video allegedly shows him picking the student up near the school. An additional Snapchat video reportedly shows Munzila and the student in his car together.
Munzila entered a written plea of guilty in March and was seeking a deferred judgement and probation. The prosecution argued that Munzila should be sentenced to up to five years in prison.
On Monday, Judge Brandon Schrock gave Munzila a five-year suspended sentence, three years of probation, a ten-year term on the Iowa Sex Offender Registry, and a $1,025 fine.