Middle School Teacher Arrested for Sharing Child Pornography and Using AI to Create Abuse Content

A middle school teacher in Florida has been taken into custody for allegedly sharing nearly 30 illegal images involving children and animals via Discord. Investigators also suspect he may have used photos of students he taught to generate AI-based abusive images.

David McKeown, who instructed sixth-grade students at UBIC Academy near Daytona Beach, was arrested after law enforcement officials traced his online activity over less than a month. Authorities say he uploaded and accessed the prohibited material while at school, using the school’s internet network.

Some of the images may have been created using AI image-generation tools, based on photographs of students he taught, prosecutors claim. It’s also alleged that McKeown engaged with the forbidden images during school hours and shared them with other offenders.

He faces 19 charges related to child and animal abuse material and could face over 300 years in prison if convicted. Authorities also have connected him to interactions with other offenders, identified through his online activities while teaching.

The investigation was launched on June 2 following a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. McKeown has been terminated from his teaching position, and the school organization expressed shock and disappointment over the allegations.