VALRICO, Fla. — Hillsborough County deputies say an elementary school teacher in Valrico has been arrested for possession of child pornography.
Detectives say they received two cyber tips from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in reference to child pornography being uploaded to an email account.
That email account belonged to 69-year-old Stephen Robb, a fifth-grade teacher at Grace Community Church and Christian School, according to the sheriff's office.
Deputies say a March 29 search warrant revealed additional images of child pornography and fully-clothed images of one of the students in Robb's class.
After obtaining an arrest warrant for six counts of child pornography, Hillsborough County deputies located and arrested Robb with the assistance of the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.
“It's sickening to know this man who was entrusted to educate and care for our young children, was exploiting children online at the same time," Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said. “His disgusting behavior will not be tolerated in Hillsborough County. I commend our detectives who work tirelessly to protect and defend the innocent children in our community.”
Barry McKeen, the pastor and administrator of Grace Community Church and Christian School, released a statement Wednesday emphasizing that the school "does not cover up abuse" and has "zero tolerance for child abuse in our ministry."
"Our former fifth grade teacher, Mr. Steve Robb, was arrested today for crimes involving child pornography. It is always heart-breaking when any former staff member is accused of misconduct, but when it is a well-liked teacher with a military background, it is exceptionally concerning and disappointing. For the past two weeks, the school has fully cooperated with law enforcement, and we are completely shocked at these extremely serious allegations. We are thankful that it does not appear that any of our students were harmed or touched inappropriately.
Grace Christian School does not cover up abuse, and we have zero tolerance for child abuse in our ministry. As a matter of policy, this church reports all reasonable suspicions of child abuse to the authorities. We carefully interview and screen our employees and volunteers, and our leadership team works to maintain child protection policies based on best practices nationally and according to Florida State laws. We believe that transparency, child safety, and accountability are essential for successful ministry, and we are fully committed to ministering in a safe and responsible manner, as we have for nearly fifty years."
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on Robb is asked to call the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at 813-247-8200.