Male, 62, who allegedly distributed child pornography worked as school district counselor for special-needs children



A Florida male who allegedly distributed child pornography worked as school district counselor for special needs children.

Miami-Dade police said the investigation into 62-year-old Robert Lee Turner began after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The tip claimed that Turner had distributed two videos containing child sex abuse content, according to police.

'Miami-Dade County Public Schools is deeply troubled by the disturbing allegations.'

Law enforcement officials tried to serve a warrant at Turner's home, and he allegedly tried to stall them by barricading himself in his bathroom.

As a result, they arrested him and charged him with resisting arrest.

During the search, police discovered Turner allegedly sent the two child sex abuse videos to about 50 people online. They described the videos in disturbing detail in the charging documents and said Turner allegedly responded to one of the videos by commenting, "yummy."

He was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on five counts of child pornography/sexual performance by a child and two counts of sexual performance by a child.

Turner on Tuesday appeared in court with visible injuries and wearing a safety smock. A judge ordered a $28,000 bond but said Turner would have to wear a GPS monitor and be on house arrest if released. He also was ordered to avoid contact with children and was allowed to use the internet only to consult with his attorney.

The district released a statement indicating that Turner was fired without confirming what position he held: “Miami-Dade County Public Schools is deeply troubled by the disturbing allegations made against this individual. This type of behavior will not be tolerated. As such, the individual’s employment with the District has been terminated. and he will be precluded from seeking future employment with M-DCPS.”

However, Miami-Dade Police Department Det. Andre Martin told WSVN-TV that “Robert Lee Turner is a counselor for Miami-Dade Public Schools. He traveled from school-to-school within the school district and has been in contact with numerous children. What’s even more disturbing is he was a counselor for children with special needs, who tend to be the most vulnerable of our juvenile population.”

Meta has taken down Turner's Instagram account.

A video news report from WPLG-TV showed Turner at his first court appearance.

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Florida man nicknamed 'Santa' and his son allegedly abused local kids and produced child porn; son commits suicide during raid



Florida police say they were tipped off to a man and his son producing child pornography at their home and found the pair was abusing neighborhood children after an investigation.

About 30 law enforcement officials raided the home on Countryside View Drive in St. Cloud on Tuesday at about 10 a.m., according to neighbors who talked to WESH-TV.

79-year-old James Cox and his son Henry Cox lived at the home.

Witnesses said that a body was carried out of the home during the raid, and the Orange County Medical Examiner later confirmed that they had been called about a dead body in the home.

St. Cloud police later said that Henry Cox died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

"The cause of death is gunshot wound of head and manner of death has been ruled a suicide," read a statement from the Osceola County Medical Examiner's Office.

A criminal complaint says that police received a cyber-tip about child pornography being uploaded from the home in November, and they raided the home on Jan. 19. They found several hard drives with videos and images of children being abused and exploited.

Agents said that the elder Cox admitted to looking at child porn online, but the younger Cox denied any involvement.

Based on the evidence they discovered, investigators said that the son produced some of the child pornography while his father uploaded it.

Investigators said that one video panned across a mirror and showed the son recording the file in the reflection.

Police said that they found video evidence that they had recorded children in public bathrooms and while they changed clothes. Some of the alleged underage victims appeared to be children who lived in the neighborhood.

The surviving Cox is being held at the Seminole County Jail.

Residents of the neighborhood said it's a quiet place, usually.

"You just don't think it's going to be so close to your house, and having four girls myself, it's a little unsettling," said Emily Jenkins to WESH.

"I think it confirms that we can't be restful and let our kids play outside," she added. "It's always play in the backyard now. It's not like it used to be."

Here's a news report about the incident:

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Florida man arrested on hundreds of charges of possessing child and animal pornography, then police allegedly find evidence of far worse at his home



Florida police arrested a man after an undercover investigation that led to hundreds of charges of possession of child and animal pornography, but they found far worse at his home.

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said that a police investigation into online predators seeking underage victims led them to 28-year-old Austin Drue Hoffman, of the city of Brandon.

Detectives were posing as children online when Hoffman allegedly revealed to them a "much darker, troubling" side of his life.

Investigators said Hoffman lied about his age and said he was 19 years old.

Police first arrested Hoffman in May 2022 and charged him with using a computer to illegal acts while misrepresenting age and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.

“This is why we do this kind of operation; we want to find the predators before they find our children,” said Chronister.

After they obtained a search warrant for his phone, what they found led to hundreds of other charges.

In December 2022, he was arrested again and charged with 100 counts of out of state transmission of child pornography by electronic device and another 100 counts of possession of child pornography (realistic computer-generated videos).

In addition to those, he was charged with four counts related to possession and transmission of child pornography and two counts related to possession and transmission of image or video of sexual activity with animals.

Investigators then searched his home and suspected that he had allegedly committed sexual acts with underage victims. They were able to identify three victims who told police what Hoffman had allegedly done to them.

As a result, he was charged with a number of other crimes, including traveling to meet minor after using comp services/devices to solicit certain illegal acts, unlawful sexual activity with a minor, and promotion of a sexual performance by a child.

“These kinds of investigations are not easy for our detectives, who are subjected to the worst things a person can see, and then must go home and live a normal life in our communities," said Chronister.

"They are the heroes who sacrifice in order to find and rescue the victims of these predators, and work to ensure they have a chance at justice within our legal system," he added.

Hoffman was jailed under a $3 million bond.

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Police find 200k images of child pornography weighing more than 1 ton in Florida man's home



A 72-year-old man was arrested for possessing a massive amount of child pornography weighing over a ton, according to Florida police.

Detective Chase King with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office told WCJB-TV that police received a tip in January about child pornography being uploaded online, and they traced the IP address to the residence of Paul Zittel.

On Thursday, police arrested Zittel after performing a search warrant at his address and finding more than 200,000 printed images in numerous boxes in his office and bedroom. They also found that a printer in his possession that displayed signs of heavy use.

The 50 boxes of images weighed more than a ton, said police, who said it was unusual to have so much physical evidence.

“The main difference in this one is that it is all in a printed physical form where is a lot of times, we’re seeing it on thumb drives or computers in a digital format," said King.

Zittel was charged with 25 counts of possession of child pornography.

The sheriff's office said that the man would never allow his roommates into his bedroom or office without an escort.

King issued a warning to parents about giving their children unfettered access to the world wide web.

“Always keep taps on what your kids are doing because what they can get into on the internet in ten seconds can lead to a world and lifetime of trauma and problems," he said.

One report found that the number of convicted child pornography offenders has decreased from 1,593 offenders in 2016 to 1,023 offenders in 2020. An overwhelming percentage of child pornography offenders were men, 99.7%.

Here's a local news report about the arrest:

Ocala man arrested after detectives find more than 200,000 printed images of child porn www.youtube.com

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