For Immediate Release
June 20, 2025
 
HOLLY HILL, Fla. – The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) assisted Holly Hill Police Department (HHPD) in the arrest of David Robert McKeown, 47, of Holly Hill, on 19 felony counts of possession of child sexual abuse material and six felony counts of sexually abusing animals. The arrest is the result of FDLE’s statewide initiative to locate and arrest criminals targeting children and sharing files depicting the sexual abuse of children.
 
“This arrest is deeply disturbing,” said FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass. “Not only was this individual trafficking in vile material but he was doing it on school grounds, during school hours surrounded by children. At FDLE, we will never allow predators to hide behind screens or school walls. We will track them down, expose them and bring them to justice.”
 
The investigation began on June 2 when an internet crimes against children (ICAC) detective with HHPD’s Criminal Investigation Division received a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Endangered Children (NCMEC) about an individual utilizing a Discord account to share multiple files depicting the sexual abuse of children.
 
HHPD’s investigation revealed McKeown to be the account holder and that he received and shared 19 files depicting child sexual abuse along with six other files depicting McKeown sexually abusing animals.
 
Detectives with HHPD further determined that McKeown was a middle school teacher at United Brethren in Christ (UBIC) Academy and that he downloaded and communicated with other Discord users during school hours while connected to the school’s Wi-Fi network.
 
On June 20, HHPD officers and special agents with FDLE’s Orlando Cybercrime Task Force served a search warrant at McKeown’s residence. FDLE provided use of electronic storage device (ESD) K9 Ruby during the search of McKeown’s residence. K9 Ruby assisted in locating several devices within the residence, which were seized for forensic analysis.
 
HHPD officers served a second search warrant at UBIC Academy where additional electronic devices were seized.
 
While reviewing McKeown’s online accounts, detectives with HHPD discovered multiple messages between McKeown and other online users that revealed he was disseminating the personal information and photographs of possible UBIC Academy students, and artificial intelligence-generated files depicting the sexual abuse of children.
 
This comes on the heels of Governor Ron DeSantis’ signature of House Bill 1161, known as “Brooke’s Law”, which protects victims of digital sexual abuse by providing a clear, enforceable and swift process to remove exploitative deepfake material from online platforms.
 
McKeown was arrested without incident and transported to the Volusia County Jail. Attorney General James Uthmeier’s Office of Statewide Prosecution is prosecuting the case.
 
The investigation remains active.
 
Please visit the FDLE website to review tips for keeping your children safe online at https://www.secureflorida.org/SF/Family-Safety/BPParents.
 
For Further Information Contact:
FDLE Office of Public Information
Info@fdle.state.fl.us