Florida Deputy Arrested For Possessing Child Pornography, Fired From Service

A Florida deputy arrested Saturday (June 13) night for possessing child pornography was fired from service.

Deputy Rashaad A. Smith, with the Collier County Sheriff's Office, was arrested at his home late Saturday. The 41-year-old has been with the department since 2005.

Sheriff Kevin Rambosk, in an official statement, said, “The justice system will determine the outcome of this case but due to the heinous nature of these allegations, I ordered the immediate withdrawal of this person’s appointment as a member of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.”

He was arrested after a search warrant was served to his residence. According to the arrest report, the department received “three cybertips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children from Microsoft about the transmission of child pornography on Skype.”

The search team seized evidence related to the case from his home. The investigators examined Smith’s laptop and found more than 100 videos showing child pornography. The videos reportedly were of children, ranging from 3 to 10 years old, engaging in sexual acts with each other and adults.

“I know and appreciate that our community expects that when a deputy is charged with crimes like these, they are immediately fired from their position of authority and they do not continue to receive compensation from our tax dollars,” the sheriff said.

According to Florida law, the release of Smith’s booking photo is prohibited.

“Anyone who commits crimes in Collier County will be arrested, including law enforcement officers. Our mission statement and our oath of office protects all people equally and this means that anyone who commits crimes against the lives, property or constitutional guarantees of others will be arrested and brought to justice in accordance with the law,” Rambosk added.

Smith was charged with 100 counts of child pornography and was initially booked into the Collier County Jail. He was later transferred to Lee County for safety reasons.

“The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is assisting in the investigation and further charges may be added,” the statement read.

The investigation was ongoing and no further details were available at the time of this writing.