TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Tampa Bay palliative care doctor is facing federal child porn production charges.
Dr. Stephen Leedy was pulled over and arrested on Dec. 19 by Holly Springs police officers in Georgia.
“I’m sorry. What’s going on?” Dr. Leedy is heard asking the officers in body worn camera video obtained by News Channel 8.
“Just put your hands behind your back,” an officer said.
Leedy told officers it was a case of “mistaken identity,” and he knew nothing of a warrant.
“THE FBI IN ON THE WAY”: THIS IS WHAT THEY DO TO YOU IF YOU’RE CAUGHT WITH KIDDIE PORN [VIDEO]
“I’m a physician,” he said in the video.
There were two family members [identified on video as his wife and his mother-in-law] in the car with Leedy at the time of his arrest.
[It was later revealed that Leedy’s wife, Lynda Leedy, worked as the chief administrative officer of the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County. She has resigned from that post. – Ed.]
Leedy was accused of instructing 10 minors to produce child porn online in 2021 and 2022, according to his federal indictment and a news release from the Department of Justice.
“Leedy instructed the minors to produce sexually explicit images of themselves and directed them to cut, choke, and hang themselves,” read the news release announcing his arrest.
According to federal prosecutors, a minor died after hanging herself in front of her phone in a manner consistent with instructions Leedy had previously provided her.
A Pasco County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson confirmed that agency investigated the juvenile’s death.
At this time, the death is considered accidental and is under investigation.
“During the investigation, there was concerning content located on the juvenile’s cell phone, and that information was provided to the FBI and DOJ for further investigation,” said a spokesperson in a statement.
Leedy’s former employee said she saw no warning signs.
“Not one single thing, always respectful to all of us. Fair boss,” said Deborah Kuhlman, a social worker who worked for Dr. Leedy at Gulfside Healthcare Services in Pasco County …
Tampa Bay Area Doctor Charged With Producing Child Sexual Abuse Materials And Enticing Minors To Engage In Sexual Activity
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida
According to the indictment and court documents, Leedy, a palliative care doctor in the Tampa Bay area, utilized the username “maximumuncle#9112” to sexually exploit and victimize approximately ten minors online. In online conversations and video chats, Leedy instructed the minors to produce sexually explicit images of themselves and directed them to cut, choke, and hang themselves.
In November 2022, Minor Victim 1 was discovered deceased, having hanged herself in front of her phone in a manner consistent with instructions Leedy had previously provided her.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Pasco Sheriff’s Office and the FBI – Tampa Office, with assistance from St. Petersburg Police Department, FBI – Atlanta Office, and the Holly Springs Police Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Abigail K. King and Ilyssa M. Spergel.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. | SOURCE
