A Pasco County school employee facing several federal child pornography charges left the Pinellas County Jail Thursday night surrounded by his parents and what appeared to be other relatives.
According to an FBI investigation, 20-year Pasco school employee Kenneth Dempsey had child pornography in his home.
No one had any comment, including Dempsey himself.
Dempsey was released on a $50,000 surety bond.
When asked what he thought about the charges he now faces or whether he feels he may have let the parents and children of the Pasco County School system down, he held his head down and said nothing.
As part of his release, the after-school childcare program assistant site administrator at Schrader Elementary School had to put his home up as collateral, move in with his parents, have no contact of any kind with children, have no use of the internet, wear a GPS device, and tell his employer about the charges he now faces.
According to an FBI investigation, Dempsey had 100 discs of child pornography hidden in an air conditioning unit at his Port Richey home. Authorities found the pornography during a raid of his home on Tuesday.
According to reports, the FBI was investigating a Shutterfly group that contained about 17,000 child porn images. An FBI Task Force says Dempsey shared at least 21 images and nine videos with the group of underage boys involved in sex acts. Dempsey's IP address was tracked by the FBI from the group, which led the task force to his home.
A school district spokesperson said Dempsey will be placed on suspension without pay until his likely firing.
Dempsey, who had a 6-year-old adopted son living with him, had no previous criminal record. The child is now in protective custody.
After his arrest, authorities said Dempsey told them he never committed any offenses against children.
Investigators said Dempsey has been very cooperative.