A sixth-grade teacher in Central Florida was arrested this week on a host of charges for possessing child pornography, apparently created with online AI technology and possibly using student photos from his Christian school.
State Attorney General James Uthmeier’s office charged David McKeown of Holly Hill with 19 enhanced felony counts of possession of child sexual abuse material and six counts of possession of animal pornography, according to a statement released by the office.
McKeown was arrested Friday by the Holly Hill Police Department at his home in Volusia County. He was a sixth-grade teacher at United Brethren in Christ (UBIC) Academy, a school affiliated with the UBIC church.
Holly Hill Police Department’s investigation alleges that McKeown shared and downloaded pornographic images depicting child porn via Discord, an online chat service, while at school and connected to the school’s Wi-Fi network.
Some 30 images were allegedly shared, including six files depicting McKeown sexually abusing animals, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLA) reported.
Uthmeier said in the statement:
As a teacher, parents trusted Mr. McKeown to impart knowledge to their children. Instead, he spent parts of the school day sending and receiving child sex abuse material and providing other pedophiles with UBIC Academy students’ personal information. What he did is beyond betrayal — it’s devastating and sick.
The investigation was launched early this month after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which tracks the internet for exploitative content involving minors, Orlando’s Fox 35 reported.
The news outlet also reported authorities believe McKeown used AI technology to create the pornographic images and may have used photos of real children, perhaps his own students. The investigation is continuing.
Detectives seized a number of devices from the teacher’s home in Holly Hill and from the school. He was booked into the Volusia County jail and a judge denied him the possibility of bond.
If convicted, he faces up to 315 years in prison, officials said.
After learning of McKeown’s arrest, UBIC Academy Board Chair Don Ross said the school sent a statement to parents though the school management portal and its website:
We have been made aware of today’s arrest of Mr. David McKeown, who has served as a sixth-grade teacher at UBIC Academy. We are shocked and deeply grieved by the serious allegations of misconduct against him. Our employment relationship with David McKeown has been terminated, and we are cooperating fully with law enforcement authorities. We ask that anyone with information pertinent to this investigation immediately contact Police Chief Byron K. Williams at (386) 248-9475.
FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass also weighed in on the arrest in a statement.
“This arrest is deeply disturbing,” he said. “Not only was this individual trafficking in vile material but he was doing it on school grounds…At FDLE, we will never allow predators to hide behind screens or school walls. We will track them down, expose them and bring them to justice.”
The arrest comes on the heels of Gov. Ron DeSantis’s signature this month of House Bill 1161, which protects victims of digital sexual abuse by providing an enforceable, swift process to remove exploitative deepfake material from online platforms.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times best seller House of Secrets, a Florida-based account of one of the worst cases of child abuse in U.S. history, and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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