By Calvin Palmer
A former Florida child welfare agency official was sentence to more than 24 years in prison today for taking nude photographs of teenage boys, including a 16-year-old under the agency’s care.
Al Zimmerman’s arrest prompted a review of hiring policies at the Florida Department of Children and Families to make sure every employee has had a criminal background check. Zimmerman had previous arrests on charges of writing bad checks and driving under the influence.
Zimmerman, 41, a former TV newsman, pleaded guilty in January to a charge of producing child pornography. Other charges were dropped as part of a plea agreement.
U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew sentenced Zimmerman to 24 years and four months, which was at the lower end of the sentencing guidelines.
After release from federal prison, the former Bay News 9 reporter will have to serve life on probation and become a registered sex offender.
Defense attorney Erick Kuske said Zimmerman waived an opportunity to argue for a lower sentence because he wanted to save his family and the victims the humiliation of the details of the crimes being heard in court.
“I realize I’ve pretty much destroyed my life,” Zimmerman told the judge. “My situation is really the least of my concerns. Most of my tears have been for the people who have suffered for my mistakes.”
Zimmerman was arrested in February 2008 and accused of making sexually explicit photos and videos of two 16-year-old boys. Authorities said he met one of the boys through his job with Department of Children and Families. Later, prosecutors said investigators had identified five more victims.
Prosecutor Colleen Murphy-Davis said Zimmerman preying on a child in the foster care system was “the ultimate insult”. He was the public face and media liaison for the child welfare agency.
Prosecutors said that Zimmerman paid one boy for sending him photos and took his own photos of the boy posing nude and masturbating.
The boy told investigators his friends began gathering at Zimmerman’s house, where they were given alcohol. Zimmerman lived in Lakeland in central Florida and part-time in Tallahassee.
Another boy told investigators he photographed himself nude with his cell phone camera on five or six occasions and sent the photos to Zimmerman, who then sent him money.
Zimmerman sent explicit e-mails to one of the boys describing poses and activities he wanted in photographs to get top dollar from overseas pornographers.
After learning that he was being investigated, Zimmerman asked a child welfare agency computer technician to throw his home computer in an outdoor trash container so authorities could not get access to it.
[Based on reports by the Associated Press and The Tampa Tribune.]
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