A high school senior in Florida turned to gay porn as a source of revenue in an effort to help his mom financially -- a decision that almost halted his graduation, according to numerous local reports.
Robert Marucci, an 18-year-old who attends Cocoa High School in Brevard County, Fla., did five scenes for gay porn producer Sean Cody as "Noel" in 2013. Last week the teen was suspended from school for creating a campus disturbance. A Reddit user first posted the news of Marucci's suspension on a gay-related section of the site over the weekend. After several national news sources picked up the story and Marucci's schoolmates spoke out on social media in an effort to get him reinstated, school officials reversed their decision.
Administrators now say Marucci's porn work was never the reason for his suspension, with Cocoa High spokeswoman Michelle Irwin telling a local TV station that the school "would never suspend a student for his job or job-related activities."
Marucci's mother remembers things differently. "She flat-out told me that he was expelled," Melyssa Lieb told WKMG Tuesday. "Not just suspended, but he was expelled, due to his explicit adult lifestyle career."
"I did this to help my mother out, get us in a better economic level," Marucci told WKMG.
Irwin declined to provide an alternative reason for Marucci's suspension, citing privacy laws. Marucci will be allowed to return to campus Wednesday.
