Florida Republican appointee Al Zimmerman arrested on child porn charges
Earl Evleth
By MITCH STACY, Associated Press Writer
TAMPA, Fla. - The former spokesman for Florida's child welfare agency paid
two 16-year-old boys for sexually explicit photos of themselves and then
brokered the images to overseas pornographers, according to a complaint
filed Monday by federal prosecutors.
One of the boys that Al Zimmerman paid for photos was in state foster care
at the time and later ran away from a foster home, according to the
affidavit written by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent
Alexander Hagedorn.
Zimmerman, 41, a former TV news reporter who was spokesman for the Florida
Department of Children & Families, was arrested Feb. 1 and charged by state
prosecutors with eight counts of using a child in a sexual performance.
Monday's complaint will be taken to a grand jury later for a federal
indictment, U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Steve Cole said.
Federal prosecutors said they would argue at a Tuesday hearing to keep
Zimmerman behind bars pending trial. His attorney, Brian Albritton, declined
to comment after a brief court appearance Monday.
When he was interviewed Feb. 1, Zimmerman admitted that he was "involved in
a pornography business," the affidavit said. He admitted paying the boys for
the photos but said the first boy had produced a driver's license that said
he was 18. The affidavit also suggests other boys were involved who have not
yet been interviewed.
The affidavit said Zimmerman paid the first boy for sending photos of
himself and shot his own photos of the boy posing nude and masturbating. The
boy told investigators he met Zimmerman because he and his friends began
gathering at Zimmerman's house, where they were given alcoholic drinks, the
affidavit said.
The second 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. He also said Zimmerman had once offered him $200 for
sex, but he declined, the document said.
The document also details explicit e-mails that authorities say Zimmerman
sent to one of the boys describing poses and activities he wanted in
photographs to get top dollar from pornographers overseas.
Zimmerman, after becoming aware that he was being investigated, asked a
child welfare agency computer technician to throw his home computer in an
outdoor trash container so authorities couldn't get access to it, the
affidavit said.
If convicted of the federal charge, Zimmerman faces a minimum of 15 years in
prison.
His arrest prompted agency review of hiring policies and of 13,500 personnel
files to make sure every employee has had a criminal background c