JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A second-grade teacher arrested by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office on 25 charges related to child sexual exploitation has now been re-arrested by federal agents.
Thomas Hazouri Jr. appeared before a magistrate judge on Friday on a new federal complaint. He'd been out on bond following his Aug. 19 arrest, but is now in federal custody.
The former Mayport Elementary School teacher and son of Jacksonville City Council President Tommy Hazouri Sr., Hazouri was first arrested Aug. 19 following a raid on his home.
According to the original arrest warrant, his personal laptop contained hundreds of pictures and videos depicting sexual performance of a child. Investigators also found pictures they say appeared to be of children at Mayport Elementary. The search warrant was obtained after a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children alleged he had exchanged child pornography online.
The federal complaint outlines the same basic narrative but adds new details.
For instance, while the original search warrant described the pictures taken at Mayport Elementary as "non-sexual," the federal complaint suggests they weren't innocuous.
According to the complaint, a photo depicting a classroom contained metadata showing it was taken at Mayport Elementary. Two other pictures taken in the same classroom show a young girl: one focused on her bottom as she lay on a colorful rug, and another shot taken with the camera aimed into her shorts, the complaint states.
"Although the child's feet partially obscure her clothed buttocks in this photo, the photo is taken at such an angle that the viewer can see up the child's shorts," according to the complaint.
The federal complaint says after being served with the warrant, Hazouri told detectives, "I don't mess with computers at all in that way. ...I don't mess with kids like that." He added that the situation was "so embarrassing."
The complaint says investigators found Hazouri's phone contained 123 images depicting child sexual abuse and three similar videos. It says his MacBook Pro contained 119 images depicting child erotica or what federal agents called "age difficult pornography."
The complaint also alleges Hazouri distributed four videos via the messaging app Kik that show children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Friday's arrest is based on the complaint, and not on a grand jury indictment as is typical in such cases. Because of COVID-19, a grand jury cannot be convened to issue an indictment.
The federal charges come two weeks after County Judge John Moran reduced Hazouri’s bond at first appearance court. Circuit Judge Meredith Charbula had set his bond at $625,000, but Moran reduced it to $25,000 – a 96 percent reduction.
“Judge Charbula was correct in setting the bail at $625,000 based on what she was provided, the Court learned additional information about Mr. Hazouri and appropriately reduced the bond to $25,000," Hazouri's attorney Hank Coxe said after court.
As conditions of his original bond, Hazouri was required to wear an ankle monitor, have no contact with minors and cannot use the internet. Until his arrest Friday, he was staying at his parents house.
It’s not clear why the federal prosecutors also took up the case, but the implications could be consequential. Conviction of a single count of possession of child pornography can carry a federal penalty of 10 years and require lifetime registration as a sex offender. That potential penalty goes up to 20 years if the victim is less than 12.
The penalties for the distribution of child pornography range from 5 years to 20 years.
Curtis Falgatter, an attorney who practices in both state and federal court (who spoke generally and not about this specific case) said the feds would never take over a case if state prosecutors objected. In terms of penalties, he said, "the punishment can be more severe over there [federal court]. It's a very strict system in federal court."
However, Falgatter said serving time in federal prison might actually be preferable.
"Federal prisons are generally safer, more organized and offer more educational opportunities," Falgatter said. "Some of these state prisons don’t even have air conditioning."
First Coast News has reached out to the State Attorney's Office and will update this story with their response.
Asked to comment about the new arrest, Coxe said, “Federal law. Federal prosecutor. Same facts. Same 15-minutes notice” – a reference to the lack of notice he received in either of Hazouri’s arrests.
Asked if it was possible the federal arrest was initiated because Hazouri was released on bond, he said, “I would like to think no government would ever do that.”