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Thomas Hazouri Jr. back in court on federal allegations of child sexual exploitation

The former 2nd grade teacher at Mayport Elementary School is accused of possessing hundreds of images and videos of children being sexually abused by adults.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Thomas Hazouri Jr. was back in court Friday for a preliminary hearing following his arrest on federal child sexual exploitation allegations.

The former Mayport Elementary School teacher was initially arrested in August on 25 state charges related to child sexual exploitation for allegedly possessing and transferring hundreds of images and videos of young children being sexually abused by adults.

Sounding breathy and nervous, Hazouri answered Magistrate Judge James Klindt 's questions about his background, education and mental health. His attorney asked Klindt to waive Hazouri's detention hearing and to reschedule his preliminary hearing, both of which were scheduled for Friday morning. Klindt re-set the preliminary hearing for Sept. 17 at 2 p.m. (Cameras are not allowed in federal court.)

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."

    

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