MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A South Florida school psychologist who worked with children with special needs is facing charges for allegedly possessing and distributing child pornography, authorities confirmed Tuesday.
According to an arrest report, Miami-Dade police said they received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The tip, submitted by Instagram on May 25, alleged Robert Lee Turner, 62, of distributing two videos that contained child sexual abuse material, investigators said.
According to the report, one video showed two naked children appearing to be 10-12 years old engaging in sexual acts. The second video depicted four nude boys between the ages of 8 to 12. Two were sleeping while the other two were also engaged in sexual activity, authorities said.
The report mentions several thumbnail images of children ages 6-12 engaging in sexual acts.
A search warrant was conducted at Turner’s home, where police said he barricaded himself in a bathroom.
Authorities said the search revealed that Turner promoted/distributed two videos of child sexual abuse material to over 50 online users.
Turner was transported to Jackson South Medical Center for evaluation before being taken into custody.
On Tuesday, police said they served a warrant at Turner’s home, where signs of the raid remained visible with a broken front door.
According to authorities, Turner attempted to resist arrest by hiding in a bathroom and preventing officers from cuffing his hands.
Through the window of a vehicle parked outside Turner’s home, a Local 10 News crew spotted a Miami-Dade Schools Exceptional Student sweater.
He was later taken to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and faces five counts of child pornography/ sexual performance by a child, two separate counts of sexual performance by a child and resisting arrest without violence, jail records show.
Turner appeared in Miami-Dade bond court Tuesday morning with visible injuries and wearing a safety smock, then Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer set his bond at $28,000, placed him on house arrest and ordered him to wear a GPS monitor.
While in bond court, Turner’s public defender said, “The state has not articulated any degree or sense of danger to the community that my client is going to do something” when Turner questioned the state’s request for house arrest as a condition of his bond.
Glazer, however, agreed with the state saying she heard the prosecutor say that Turner has “had contact with students who’ve graduated and have special needs, and he doesn’t want any continued contact with them.”
Glazer said Turner would only be able to use the internet to consult with his lawyer and issued a no-contact order prohibiting him from interacting with anyone under the age of 18. Turner’s Instagram account has since been taken down.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools did not disclose specifically where Turner was employed within the district but said he worked for the system and was assigned to schools as needed.
The district also released a statement regarding the allegations against him: