A South Daytona elementary teacher and former youth pastor has been accused of possessing thousands of child pornography images.
According to federal agents, the man produced some of the images himself. He remained jailed Tuesday while agents continue to investigate the case.
The 42-year-old man was arrested Monday after FBI agents searched his Edgewater home and allegedly found the illegal images on his laptop.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Orlando federal court, that same day, Warner Christian Academy announced it suspended the fifth-grade teacher without pay.
Agents apparently began investigating the man in May after an undercover agent using a peer-to-peer file sharing program downloaded around 140 child pornographicimages and six videos from him.
Agents arrived at the man’s home Monday and allegedly found that same file sharing program running on his laptop. The complaint claims the man was uploading and downloading files with names that were indicative of child pornography.
A forensic examiner alleges that a total of 8,761 images were discovered in one of the man’s computer folders. Many of these images apparently depicted the sexual abuse of boys, according to court records.
Court records also allege that pictures were found in one of those folders that show the man sexually abusing a boy in his living room in 2012.
In another folder, examiners claim they found a picture of a naked boy asleep on the man’s couch.
The man faces charges of production, distribution and possession of child pornography.
People accused of child pornography charges face very serious consequences if convicted. While the stigma of this sex offense can follow you around for the rest of your life, a conviction for possession of just a few images can result in lengthy prison sentences and heavy fines. Even once your time is served and the fines are paid, living a normal life is often impossible.
If you are under investigation or have been arrested for a federal child pornography crime, it is absolutely vital to enlist the help of a criminal defense lawyer that will aggressively fight to protect your future against the ramifications that coincide with these serious charges.
If you are looking for an experienced Child Pornography Defense Lawyer, please call a Florida Sex Crimes Attorney at Whittel & Melton today at 866-608-5529 or contact us online to request a free consultation.