School Psychologist Facing Child Porn Charges
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HOLLYWOOD (CBSMiami) - A school psychologist got caught with child porn on his computer, according to Broward Sheriff's Office Deputies.
Authorities arrested Richard Pitcock, 51, on Tuesday evening after investigators searched his room and said they found at least 25 images of child pornography in his computer.
Pitcock, who lives in Ashland City, Tennessee, is visiting Hollywood and was staying at the St. Maurice Inn located at 314 Michigan Street at the time of his arrest.
Deputies said the arrest came after an investigation that someone was sharing or advertising child pornography images through the internet at various hotels and motels.
The judge said Pitcock gave an impromptu confession when he found cops in his hotel room.
"You immediately asked where your two computers were and pointed to the bedside table, " said Broward Judge John Hurley.
Detectives said the images on the computer depicted children involved in sexual activity or in sexually explicit poses. They said they confiscated more storage devices.
Pitcock works at the Cheatham County School District in Tennessee. His bosses spoke about he incident.
"It's a devastating thing to stand before the media and to talk about things that can harm children and I think what we're trying to do, all of us in the education circle, is to protect our children," said Dr. Stan Curtis, Director of Schools For Cheatham County.
School district officials also released the following statement about his arrest, "The Cheatham County School District's top priority is the safety and well-being of its students. We take allegations of illegal activity very seriously, and we are taking the appropriate steps to ensure our students are protected. We will be cooperating with law enforcement throughout the investigation."
In South Florida and Tennessee Police said they will pursue the obvious.
"Our concern as always is that because he has regular contact with children through his job as a school psychologist, we would be worried that there might have been some inappropriate activity," said BSO officer Dani Moschella.