Band teacher at Miami-Dade school arrested for alleged sex with student 

An accomplished violinist and band teacher at a Miami-Dade school has been arrested for allegedly carrying on a sexual relationship with one of his students, authorities said. Heihachiro Nakashima, 33,…

An accomplished violinist and band teacher at a Miami-Dade school has been arrested for allegedly carrying on a sexual relationship with one of his students, authorities said.

Heihachiro Nakashima, 33, was arrested Tuesday on three counts of lewd and lascivious battery by an authority figure, Miami-Dade jail records showed.

According to an arrest warrant, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office began investigating Nakashima after the alleged victim came forward alleging she’d been engaged in a sexual relationship with him earlier this year when she was around 15.

The teen said Nakashima was her band teacher and that the two began communicating by text message after he gave her complimentary tickets to one of his orchestra performances, the warrant said.

“He began grooming the victim by purchasing her numerous items,” Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Det. Jesus Llanes said Wednesday. “He would groom the victim by purchasing her items, making her believe that they were in love and he would provide like an authority figure over her.”

The girl said Nakashima frequently told her he loved her but characterized the statements as platonic, and their first in person meeting outside of school happened around March, the warrant said.

That’s when she said he picked her up from her home after she told her parents she was spending time with a friend, and they went to his home where she said they had intimate contact but no sexual activity, the warrant said.

On another visit to Nakashima’s home, they engaged in sex acts, and she said she continued meeting with him at his home and engaging in sex acts between March and June, the warrant said.

An arrest warrant was issued for Nakashima on June 15 and he was arrested and booked into jail on Tuesday.

He appeared before a judge on Wednesday who set his bond at $45,000 with a GPS monitor and ordered him to stay away from the alleged victim. His defense attorney said he has no criminal record.

Llanes said investigators are looking into the possibility that there could be more victims.

“Well, the subject was a teacher and he has access to numerous children, so we just ask the community to speak to your children and give us a call if you have any information,” he said.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Nakashima has been the music director at Palm Glades Preparatory Academy High School, a charter school in Miami, since August of 2024.

Before that, he worked at Dade Christian School and St. Philip’s Episcopal School, his profile said.

His web bio says he’s also performed in multiple orchestras and competitions.

NBC6 has reached out to the schools and was waiting to hear back.

Meanwhile, Llanes had a warning for parents.

“Speak to your children, see if they’ve come home with numerous items that are, if your children don’t have a job and they’re coming home with items that basically they don’t have the ability to purchase, we ask you to go through their phones, go through their social medias, look at their accounts,” he said.