FL Youth Pastor Gets 35 Years On Child Porn Charges

Tampa’s CBS affiliate reports:

A Polk County man who spent much of his professional and church life working with children was arrested in November 2020 after investigators found more than 700 pictures and videos of child porn on his phone, the sheriff’s office reported. Shawn Fitzgerald, 49, — a former Lakeland High School teacher, soccer coach and youth minister — was 46 years old when investigators found images on his phone of children as young as infants being sexually abused.

Law enforcement officers also found a selfie of Fitzgerald standing in his classroom with his genitals exposed, according to a release from State Attorney Brian Haas. In a statement from the time of his arrest, Polk County Schools said Fitzgerald taught special needs students at Lakeland High School. Fitzgerald was also the director of youth services at First United Methodist Church in Bartow. On Friday, Fitzgerald was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

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Shawn Fitzgerald, 49, former director of youth services at First United Methodist Church in Bartow & Lakeland High School special needs teacher & soccer coach, has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for possessing child sexual abuse materials. https://t.co/O7scSp2WZg

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