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Public Employees Commission Report
From: <Mary.Eubanks@djj.state.fl.us>
-----Original Message----- Elisa, Pornographic photos found on DJJ computer Juvenile Justice Secretary Frank Peterman said Thursday a dozen detention officers have been fired in an investigation of pornographic images found on a state computer. Peterman called a news conference on the steps of his department headquarters to emphasize that no boys at the St. Johns Regional Juvenile Detention Center were exposed to the materials. He said the pictures ranged from "suggestive" to "explicit," but that no pictures of minors were among them. "Twelve individuals admitted to downloading and viewing these images," said Peterman. "There has been no evidence to suggest that the safety of the children was compromised, nor do I believe that any children viewed these images." The 50-bed detention center in St. Augustine is a high-security institution. Peterman said the employees worked directly with the boys. "I also want to point out that this should not reflect on the hard-working, professional men and women of this department," he said. "We will address this situation head-on. Any allegation or information that we receive will be looked into." State personnel policies forbid personal use of office equipment, and new employees sign statements acknowledging that they will not misuse time or resources on the job. Like other employers, agencies have a zero- tolerance policy for Internet porn. Peterman said he could not go into detail about the case because the two-week investigation is continuing. "It looks like the employees involved in this matter were an isolated group," he said. Department spokesman Frank Penela said a computer technician was working on a virus in some terminals. Some pornographic images were found on a hard drive, which was removed and sent to the DJJ inspector general. "The inspector general immediately opened an investigation," Penela said. One supervisor, Jerome McCoy, was among the 10 men and two women fired at the
DJJ institution. The others were identified as Detention Officers Danny Allen,
Dirk Charlton, Chadwick Demarco, David Evans, Craig Fox, Harry Hontz III,
Richeleiu Montoya, Derrick Philmore, Matthew Quinn, Tekita Thomas and Marie
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