Former charter school superintendent arrested on child porn charges

By Zach Scott

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    BAY COUNTY, Florida (WBBH) — A Former Cape Coral charter school superintendent and current Chief Education Officer in Bay County, Florida, was arrested on child porn charges on Monday.

Frankie Nelson Stephenson, 55, is the current Chief Education Officer at Bay Haven Charter Academy in Panama City.

Deputies said during the course of another investigation involving child pornography, another messaging account was found to be communicating with the target of the investigation.

According to BCSO, child pornography was found in the messages between the two, as well as information that the user of that account was also a Bay County resident.

A month-long investigation reportedly identified the owner of that account as Stephenson, a Panama City Beach resident.

BCSO investigators, along with Homeland Security, served a search warrant on Stephenson’s house, according to the release.

During the search, deputies said they found a picture depicting at least one known minor in a sexual manner on one of Stephenson’s electronic devices.

No evidence has been found at this time to involve any student at Bay Haven Charter Academy.

Stephenson was arrested and is facing a charge of possession of a image of sexual performance of a child.

In 2017, the Cape Coral city’s charter school board voted to remove Stevenson effective immediately after announcing he would resign at the end of his contract on June 30.

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