ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Orange County teacher and Boy Scout leader arrested for crimes involving children bonded out of jail Thursday night.
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Stephen Wise covered his face as he left the Orange County jail and refused to answer any questions asked by WFTV Reporter, Ryan Hughes.
Wise was a television production and language arts teacher at Lake Nona High School, and his alleged crimes involve child pornography.
Investigators said there is no physical evidence, but said 43-year-old Wise admitted to having pornographic images of children. Wise was escorted to the Orange County jail and faces 10 counts of possession of child pornography, according to deputies.
"A lot of people put their trust in you. Were they wrong?" WFTV reporter Mel Holt asked as he was led away, but got no answer.
Orange County investigators said they may never have charged Wise with possession of child pornography had it not been for two other arrests of roommates David Joseph and Mark Tousignantin in Osceola County last month.
Tousignant was friends with Wise, and investigators said he pointed a finger at the teacher.
In addition to teaching at Lake Nona High School, Wise was a former volunteer with Big Brothers/Big Sisters. He was an assistant troop leader for the Boy Scouts of America in Orlando, but was relieved of duty Thursday morning after deputies served a search warrant on his Cypress Ridge Drive home (see map).
Neighbors watched as investigators from Orange and Osceola counties removed electronics and digital media from the house.
"Shocked, absolutely shocked just to know there are kids all around," neighbor Susana Armstrong said.
Armstrong told WFTV some of the neighborhood kids would refer to him as "the creepy guy," but she never saw these allegations coming. Investigators said they're speaking with all the children Wise has had contact with, and that includes his troop.
"We're talking with those kids to see if any victimization occurred," said Detective Sgt. Rich Mankewich of the Orange Co. Sheriff's Office said.
Investigators said the pornographic images they found on a computer in his home speak for themselves. However, not all the images of children on Wise's computer were pornographic. There were images of children Wise allegedly knew.
"Kids wrestling with one another, kids with their shirts off. They don't rise to the level of child pornography, but, certainly as an investigator I want to talk to those children," Mankewich said.
Wise is unmarried and WFTV was told he has no children of his own, but investigators said they are still worried.
"Clearly he has an appetite, looking at these kids on the Internet," Mankewich said. "We did recover a lot of evidence."
Wise has no criminal history, so he cleared background checks with the schools and the Boy Scouts, who alerted parents of Wise's arrest by e-mail Thursday.
School officials said, until the school district's own internal review of the charges happens, Wise isn't welcome on campus.
School officials haven't made a determination if Wise's leave from Lake Nona will be with or without pay.
WFTV
