Florida special education teacher, 16-year-old among 6 arrested in child porn operation: deputies
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MARION COUNTY, Fla. - A middle school special education teacher, college janitor and 16-year-old boy are among six arrested in an operation related to the possession of child sex abuse material in Marion County, according to deputies.
Michael Kozierowski was arrested and charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography amid the Marion County Sheriff's Office's four-day operation alongside the Ocala Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations. The Eustis Middle School teacher was among those identified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as being associated with people who might be in possession of child sex abuse material.
According to a spokesperson for Lake County Schools, Kozierowski was hired in 2010. They added that the school board is what determines all terminations, and the next meeting is set for Monday.
Deputies paid a visit to the 57-year-old man's house on Tuesday. After Kozierowski denied deputies access to his electronic devices without a lawyer present, they obtained a search warrant which was signed and executed that day, according to an arrest affidavit from the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
A desktop computer was located in his home, which was sitting on a small table "with only a bottle of lubricant next to it," the affidavit said. A senior digital forensic technician analyzed the device and found at least 10 files of child sex abuse material on it, including nearly-a-minute-long videos of juvenile and prepubescent children exposing their genitals, utilizing sex toys and being sexually battered by an adult, the report continued.
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The technician said the files were recently downloaded and viewed. He also found a "large amount" of video and image files in compressed files on the physical storage of the computer, the affidavit said.
More child sex abuse material is expected to be found on the computer, and the sheriff's office expects to bring forth more charges against Kozierowski as a result.
"Much of the (child sex abuse material) he possessed and viewed depicted children that are around the age of the children he daily has care, custody and control over," the affidavit said.
Kozierowski is currently being held at the Marion County Jail without bond.
Michael Kozierowski (Photo: Marion County Sheriff's Office)
Five other men, including a 16-year-old, were arrested in the Marion County Sheriff's Office operation:
- Cameron Rios, 25: Rios, who is currently employed with the University of Florida janitorial services department, told deputies he uses cloud storage applications like OneDrive and DropBox to view and download child pornography he receives via Kik, according to an arrest affidavit. He was charged with seven counts of possession of child pornography and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. He has since been released from the Marion County Jail after posting $37,000 bond.
Cameron Rios (Photo: Marion County Sheriff's Office)
- Dominik Robinson, 19: Robinson told deputies he had a compulsion he described as a "tick" that would cause him to use his phone to access child sex abuse material, according to an affidavit. He said he'd feel ashamed halfway through masturbating to the material he allegedly downloaded from social media. Robinson is also accused of uploading the material to a DropBox account associated with his email address. He's facing seven counts of possession of child pornography, unlawful use of a two-way communication device and resisting without violence. He remains held at the Marion County Jail on $20,000 bond.
Dominik Robinson (Photo: Marion County Sheriff's Office)
- Daniel Carroll, 31: Carroll, a "self-professed pedophile," according to an affidavit, admitted to downloading, storing and regularly masturbating to child sex abuse material "over 100 times." He also said he "came to terms with his sexual attraction to children several years ago," he told deputies. Carroll was charged with 22 counts of possession of child pornography and remains held at the Marion County Jail on $44,000 bond.
Daniel Carroll (Photo: Marion County Sheriff's Office)
- 16-year-old: A 16-year-old has been charged with six counts of possession of child pornography after images depicting children between the ages of 5 and 9 engaged in sex acts were found on his phone, according to an affidavit. His current status in jail is unknown at this time. FOX 35 is choosing not to name the suspect due to his age.
- Christopher Carley, 18: Carley reportedly made "clear admissions" to deputies that he "accidentally" uploaded child sex abuse material from his device to the cloud, and said he knew it was unlawful and inappropriate at the time, according to an affidavit. Carley's facing 20 counts of possession of child pornography. He remains in custody at the Marion County Jail on $100,000 bond.
Christopher Carley (Photo: Marion County Sheriff's Office)
Additional charges maybe forthcoming as Marion County Sheriff's Office investigators continue to review electronic devices.