HOMESTEAD, Fla. – A teacher with Miami-Dade Public Schools has been arrested on child porn charges, authorities confirmed Wednesday.
According to Homestead police, the department received a cyber tip from the National Center of Exploited and Missing Children in October of 2023 related to an individual uploading files containing possible child pornography.
Homestead police began looking into the tip and over the course of their yearlong investigation, it was discovered that 37-year-old George Henry Rafols was in possession of “concerning material related to child pornography,” the department said in a news release.
Police also found out that Rafols worked for Miami-Dade Public Schools as a substitute teacher at Air Base K-8 Center, located at 12829 SW 272nd Street in unincorporated Miami-Dade County.
Police told Local 10′s Layron Livingston that the explicit image Rafols was alleged to have uploaded was of a girl about 10 years old.
With the assistance of Miami-Dade Schools Police, Homestead officers took Rafols into custody without incident and said he is cooperating with investigators.
Following the arrest, the school district released the following statement:
“Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is profoundly troubled by the concerning allegations made against this individual, leading to his arrest. The Homestead Police Department conducted their investigation with help from Miami-Dade Schools Police and although he is not an employee of M-DCPS, he will no longer be able to serve as a substitute teacher in the District. M-DCPS goes to great lengths to provide a safe school environment for our students and employees.”
Michelle St. Aimee, whose child attends Air Base K-8 Center, told Local 10 News that she was furious when she heard about the allegations.
“You know what really pissed me off? (It) was the fact that he got to work here for the whole year while this investigation (was) going on. So, for me, that’s kind of like an issue and I will be bringing that up sometime this month,” she said.
Rafols appeared in a Miami-Dade courtroom Thursday, where Judge Mindy Glazer set his bond at $7,500 and appointed him a public defender after Rafols claimed he could not afford a private lawyer.
Prosecutors raised concerns due to his work with minors, requesting conditions such as no unsupervised contact with children, GPS monitoring and limited internet use.
While Rafols argued he needed internet access for his job and to monitor his bank account, Glazer allowed him to use the internet strictly for work purposes.
Glazer said that any misuse of the internet could result in further charges for Rafols. She also placed him under Level 3 house arrest with a GPS monitor and stated that he was not allowed to have unsupervised contact with children.