Florida Teacher Faces Child Porn Charges

A Florida teacher faces child porn charges after hundreds of videos and photos of child sexual abuse were found on his cell phone.

Lakeland High School teacher and boys’ soccer coach Shawn Fitzgerald, 46, was arrested and faces charges that include 408 counts of child pornography, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

Fitzgerald, who also is the youth director at First United Methodist Church in Bartow, Florida, possessed images that did not appear to be created by locally. Authorities said there is no indication at this time that Fitzgerald has harmed any children that he’s come into contact with, but Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said more charges are apt to be filed.

Fitzgerald attracted the attention of local authorities when they received a tip from the National Center on Missing and Exploited Children, which received a notice that a child porn video was uploaded in February through Kik Messenger, an app that promotes anonymity for its users. The video that tipped off investigators shows a man having sexual relations with a girl who is no older than 12 years.

Top Class Actions reports on sexual abuse stories like this because they are often are the subject of lawsuits.

Florida Teacher Faces Child Porn Charges

“An arrest like this shakes the entire community,” Sheriff Judd told the Miami Herald. “A man entrusted with the education and guidance of so many children, working closely with them, and betraying that trust in such a heinous way. Sadly, people who possess child pornography are out there, all over the world.”

Fitzgerald allegedly has been employed at Lakeland High School where he has taught special needs students. According to a statement from Polk County Public Schools, Fitzgerald has worked with the school district since 1998 and has taught at Lake Alfred Middle, Stephens Elementary, Bill Duncan Opportunity Center, and George Jenkins High School.

According to local CBS affiliate WFMY Channel 2 shared a statement from Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd, who said the district was “shocked and disgusted” at the charges leveled against Fitzgerald because educators should set the highest moral example. Byrd said the district is fully cooperating with the investigation to make sure justice is served, and Fitzgerald’s employment is being terminated.

Predator Hid in Plain Sight

Fitzgerald not only communicated through Kik, but also stored the pornography in a folder on his phone that appeared to be a calculator app, but actually contained images of child sexual assault. Sheriff Judd said at a news conference that Fitzgerald originally told detectives that the folder contained evidence of an extramarital affair he had, which is why the images were hidden. He then proclaimed he couldn’t remember the password to open it.

Back in 2016, Kik Messenger said 40% of teenagers in the U.S. used the app because they only need a name and an email address to communicate through the platform. In other types of texting apps, a cell phone number is required to utilize SMS, but Kik uses a Wi-Fi connection or the smart phone’s data plan.

Kik has not updated its user statistics since 2016, but the company has come under fire for its ability to allow predators to hide.

In 2017, Forbes reported that a police officer completed a search warrant that said in part, “Kik Messenger is frequently used by individuals who trade child pornography because it is free, simple to set up, easily accessible, potentially anonymous and allows users to share digital data privately.”

The Florida teacher faces porn charges now that child abuse watchdog groups such as the National Center on Missing and Exploited Children are alerted to the exchange of such images.