Teacher sentenced for possessing more than 700 sexual abuse pictures and video of children as young as infants

Shawn Christopher Fitzgerald seen here in a mug shot from Sept. 07, 2023.

Shawn Christopher Fitzgerald possessed more than 700 images of child sexual abuse material, authorities said. (Mug shot: Polk County Jail)

A former Florida teacher is going to prison for possessing more than 700 images of child sexual abuse material.

Shawn Christopher Fitzgerald, 49, was sentenced to 35 years in prison on Friday, the Office for the State Attorney for the 10th Judicial Circuit announced.

According to a news release and probable cause affidavit from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, investigators got a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children showing that a user on the KIK messenger app uploaded a video of child sexual abuse material on Feb. 20, 2020. The footage showed a man sexually abusing a girl, who was approximately 10 to 12 years of age, authorities said.

Investigators tracked the KIK user to Fitzgerald’s home in Lakeland.

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