LAKELAND, Fla. — A Polk County man who spent much of his professional and church life working with children was arrested in November 2020 after investigators found more than 700 pictures and videos of child porn on his phone, the sheriff's office reported.
Now, 49-year-old Shawn Fitzgerald is facing what that state attorney called a "long-term prison sentence."
Fitzgerald — a former Lakeland High School teacher, soccer coach and youth minister — was 46 years old when investigators found images on his phone of children as young as infants being sexually abused. Sheriff Grady Judd said Fitzgerald even went as far as to conceal the images in multiple encrypted apps, including one that was disguised as a calculator.
Law enforcement officers also found a selfie of Fitzgerald standing in his classroom with his genitals exposed, according to a release from State Attorney Brian Haas.
"A forensic analysis of his cell phone revealed that Fitzgerald routinely viewed child pornography while going about his daily life, including while teaching, ministering to the youth, coaching and attending field trips," the release reads.
In a statement from the time of his arrest, Polk County Schools said Fitzgerald taught special needs students at Lakeland High School. He has been with the district since 1998 and previously worked at Lake Alfred Middle, Stephens Elementary, Bill Duncan Opportunity Center and George Jenkins High School.
Fitzgerald was also the director of youth services at First United Methodist Church in Bartow.
On Friday, Fitzgerald was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
"State Attorney Brian Haas thanks Assistant State Attorney Monica Smith and Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and his Computer Crimes Unit in ensuring that this sex offender was sentenced to a long-term prison sentence and protecting the youth of our community," the news release read.
10 Tampa Bay's Andrew Krietz contributed to this report.
