A middle school paraprofessional in Hillsborough County is facing more than a dozen counts of possession of child pornography, the sheriff's office announced on Friday.
Sean Shafer, 23, was arrested after authorities found 15 confirmed child porn files on his electronic devices. Detectives were led to investigate Shafer from an internet tip in May.
Shafer works as a teacher's aid at Mulrennan Middle School in Valrico. The sheriff's office said at this time, no students are suspected of being victims and all the images found appear to have been downloaded from the internet.
Shafer faces 15 counts of possession of child pornography, 26 counts of in-state transmission of child pornography by electronic device, and one count of possession of obscene material.
"The well-being of children should be the top priority for all of our school district employees, so it is especially upsetting that someone who works in the classroom would share obscene images of children online," said Sheriff Chad Chronister. "Our office will continue working diligently to find and arrest any individual who seeks to take advantage of minors or aides in their victimization."
The Hillsborough County School District released the following statement:
"We are both shocked and disgusted by these allegations. Mr. Shafer has been with our district since 2018 and has had no reported incidents involving students. He will not be returning to our district."
