A 36-year-old man was arrested for possession of child sex abuse material. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed a search warrant and found incriminating material on the man's cellphone. The man admitted to sharing such material online.

The man is employed at a middle school and the Boys and Girls Club, where he teaches chess and music lessons.

This case is part of a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.

According to the DOJ:

During a search of [the accused's] cellphone, an HSI computer forensic agent located an image of child sex abuse material in his photo gallery. [The accused] admitted to agents that he had sent and received child sex abuse material using an online social media application. https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/orlando-middle-school-employee-arrested-possessing-child-sex-abuse-material (Oct. 10, 2024).

Commentary

The source states the accused worked at a middle school, but also volunteered his time at a nonprofit dedicated to children. In other words, he was focused on spending his time with children.

When hiring, student safe environment organizations often view an applicant's history with children as an indicator of future performance - the theory being that an applicant who likes to work with students will perform better than someone who prefers to work with adults.   

That makes sense, but one of the red flags of a potential perpetrator is a desire to be around children, including students, all the time, including during their personal time.

When performing due diligence on applicants, safe student organizations should focus on an applicant's balance. A safer candidate is one that likes to work with children, but is not singularly focused on children. Applicants should be able to demonstrate time spent with other adults doing "adult things" to demonstrate balance.

Discovering the reasons an applicant spends time with children; how much time is spent with children, and whether the applicant has ever crossed boundaries meant to protect children are important facts to discover.

The final takeaway is there is nothing inherently wrong or sinister about anyone who wants to dedicate their time and work to help children, so long as the applicant indicates balance in their life, their activities, and their social life.