Yet again, a Florida “Pastor” makes it to the headlines at The Roys Report. So proud.
A Florida Christian middle school teacher downloaded and shared a slew of child pornography, using his students’ faces to create AI-generated explicit content, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Friday.
David R. McKeown, 47, has also been accused of creating and possessing animal pornography, according to the Holly Hill Police Department.
McKeown worked as a sixth-grade teacher at the United Brethren In Christ (UBIC) Academy in Holly Hill, close to Daytona Beach.
McKeown faces 19 counts of possession of child pornography and six counts of sexual activities involving animals, according to police.
“As a teacher, parents trusted Mr. McKeown to impart knowledge to their children,” Uthmeier said. “Instead, he spent parts of the school day sending and receiving child sex abuse material and providing other pedophiles with UBIC Academy students’ personal information.”
McKeown has been fired from his position at the school, Don Ross, school board chair at UBIC Academy, said in a statement.
“We are shocked and deeply grieved by the serious allegations of misconduct against him,” Ross said. “Our employment relationship with David McKeown has been terminated, and we are cooperating fully with law enforcement authorities.”
Police first started investigating McKeown less than a month ago after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Detectives then executed search warrants at both McKeown’s home and UBIC Academy and recovered multiple electronic devices.
Based on McKeown’s online activity and the devices, police discovered that the teacher had shared 19 images of child pornography, Uthmeier said. Police believe that McKeown created the explicit AI -generated content based on real children, including some who potentially attended UBIC Academy.
McKeown had also made and shared nine images of himself engaging in sexual acts with the family pet.
McKeown disseminated, downloaded, and communicated with users on Discord about the pornography. The teacher relied on school Wi-Fi to do so, Uthmeier said.
Uthmeier noted that police are still investigating McKeown’s electronic devices and there may be additional charges to come.
“What he did is beyond betrayal—it’s devastating and sick,” Uthmeier said. “Our Office of Statewide Prosecution will aggressively pursue justice for these children and their parents.”
If convicted, McKeown faces up to 315 years in prison, Uthmeier added.
McKeown is currently being held at Volusia County Branch Jail on a bail of $1,250,000, according to court records.
If he manages to post bail, the judge ordered McKeown to have no internet access and no contact with anyone under the age of 18, WESH-TV Ch. 2 reported.
“This arrest is deeply disturbing,” Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass told News Nation Now. “Not only was this individual trafficking in vile material, but he was doing it on school grounds, during school hours surrounded by children.”
Family-run school and church
UBIC Academy is connected to a church of the same name in Holly Hill, and the two organizations seem overrun with members of the McKeown family.
The two organizations are run by McKeown’s brothers, Matt and Joshua, according to several church podcast episodes.
In a 2019 episode, Matt McKeown describes how there “are three men in our family that are children of our parents: Us, and then our brother Josh, who also is a pastor. He is the principal of our school.”
The school’s website confirms this, listing Joshua McKeown as its principal and administrator. Then on the church’s Facebook page, Matt McKeown is listed as one of the lead pastors.
Multiple other McKeowns are listed in leadership and staff roles at the two organizations. A Chuck McKeown is listed as a pastor at the church, while four other people with the same last name are listed as working at the school.
According to the church’s annual business report, Robert, Vicki, Matt, and Josh McKeown are listed as four of the five officers of the ministry.
The Roys Report (TRR) called and emailed both the church and school for more clarification on the family connections, but did not hear back prior to publication.
