United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida
10/21/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/21/2024 08:56
Orlando Middle School Employee Arrested For Possessing Child Sex Abuse Material
Ocala, Florida - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the arrest of Mitchell Regan (36, Leesburg) on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of child sex abuse material. If convicted, Regan faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
According to the complaint, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed a search warrant at Regan's residence on October 17, 2024. During a search of Regan's cellphone, an HSI computer forensic agent located an image of child sex abuse material in his photo gallery. Regan admitted to agents that he had sent and received child sex abuse material using an online social media application. Regan also advised law enforcement that he is currently employed at a middle school and the Boys and Girls Club and that he teaches chess club and music lessons.
A complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case is investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Orange County Sheriff's Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.
This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue child victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.