Miami-Dade charter school IT director accused of possessing child porn, arrest documents say
The IT director of a Southwest Miami-Dade charter school is facing serious accusations after he was arrested for possessing child pornography.
Michael Rodriguez, 32, was arrested and charged Friday for child porn possession and attempting or promoting sexual performances of a child.
According to arrest documents, Rodriguez is a staff member at Pinecrest Cove Preparatory Academy, where he works as the school's IT director.
In an email sent to Pinecrest Cove parents obtained by CBS News Miami, Rodriguez was terminated from his position "effective immediately" as he is the subject of an ongoing police investigation.
In late 2023, two Pinecrest Cove students were suspended after they were accused of creating nude photos of their classmates by using artificial intelligence. However, CBS News Miami has not confirmed any connection between Rodriguez's arrest and the AI incident.
Pinecrest Cove also told parents in the same email that it has "no reason to believe" that the investigation into Rodriguez is related to their students or school operations.
"Please rest assured that we are committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for all," school communications said.
In a statement provided to CBS News Miami, Pinecrest Cove's administration confirmed Rodriguez's firing, saying in part that "the safety and well-being of our students is our top priority."
"We are committed to upholding the highest standards for safety and security," the school administration said. "While our students remain safe, we are deeply saddened by such incidents, and our thoughts are with all children and families affected by this type of behavior."
The arrest
On Thursday, Miami-Dade Sheriff's detectives received two cyber tips, including one from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), that indicated that a child porn suspect was Rodriguez. After exigent legal processes were drafted by MDSO and the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit, authorities were able to confirm that Rodriguez was the suspect in question and obtained a warrant to search Rodriguez's electronic devices.
The next day, MDSO ICAC detectives went to Pinecrest Cove to interview Rodriguez, where after being read his Miranda rights, he admitted to both viewing and sending child porn to himself while at work.
According to the arrest documents, Rodriguez was "adamant that he only viewed the criminal material while at work in his private office due to the area being obscured from the security cameras within the school."
Rodriguez also told detectives that he kept all the files on a USB drive called "MY STUFF" and provided it to them after signing a consent form. Rodriguez and the detectives then went to his office computer and plugged in the USB drive, in which he told MDSO that he had stored all the child porn, the arrest documents said.
One of the detectives then opened up the USB drive and found "multiple folders containing images that were sexual in nature." One folder, labeled "Random Girls," was opened and detectives found multiple files of child pornography, with young girls between the ages of 4 and 10 in sexually explicit poses and scenarios. One of the photos that detectives found was one that led to their cybertips.
According to the arrest documents, three other child porn images were found on Rodriguez's USB drive that were reported in the cybertips that were found on his cellphone in a "hidden folder."
As such, Rodriguez was arrested and charged accordingly before Kendall uniform patrol officers took him to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
