Palm Beach Co. teacher says child porn he viewed was “art,” arrest report says

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — A Palm Beach County elementary school teacher admitted to viewing child pornography but told sheriff’s office investigators it was “art,” according to a newly released arrest report.

Edward Parker, 54, was a second grade teacher at Timber Trace Elementary School in Palm Beach Gardens arrested Thursday on 10 counts of possession by a child of 10 or more records of sexual performance.

WPTV

According to Parker’s arrest report, the South Florida Cybercrime Task Force on Children received a tip on July 7 from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about a Google user who uploaded 50 videos depicting the “sexual abuse of children.”

On Aug. 25, a search warrant sent to Google Parker via his email address identified him as the suspect, the arrest report said.

The SWAT team and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Cybercrime Division conducted a search warrant at Parker’s Jupiter Farms home on Thursday.

According to the arrest report, Parker admitted to investigators that he “viewed the child pornography but refused to download it.”

“Parker stated that the material he was viewing was ‘fake’ and ‘art,'” the arrest report reads.

A forensic search inside Parker’s Acer Chromebook laptop and Samsung Galaxy A10 phone uncovered child pornography files, the report said. At least one of the pictures in Parker’s possession showed a child under the age of 5 engaged in a sexual act, according to the sheriff’s office.

Parker’s arrest report states that he is unmarried and has a son with his ex-wife. He also has two adopted sons in his care.

Parker was checked into the Palm Beach County Jail around 9 a.m. Wednesday. In court Thursday, a judge set Parker’s bail at $150,000 and ordered him to have no contact with children under the age of 18 and no access to computers, the internet, smartphones or digital devices.

WPTV

In a written statement to parents Thursday, principal Kathy Pasquariello said Parker has worked at Timber Trace Elementary School since 2002 but “will not be returning to our campus.”

Pasquariello added that there was “no indication that this alleged criminal activity directly affected the school or the students.”

The Sheriff’s Office urges anyone who may have had inappropriate contact with Parker to contact Detective Malory Wildove at 561-688-4079 or Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County at 1-800-458-TIPS.