ST. CLOUD, Fla. — A former high school custodian in Osceola County faces close to a dozen charges related to possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material.
On Wednesday, the St. Cloud Police Department arrested Mark Stone Harden, 57, on multiple felony charges.
Harden worked at the Zenith Accelerated Learning Academy near Cross Prairie Parkway and U.S. 192 until he resigned on Tuesday ahead of his arrest.
The Osceola County school district said Harden worked as a custodian and had been with the district since 2009.
Police say during that time, Harden secretly took photos of students at the school and would often remark about the children’s body parts.
According to police, they are still forensically examining his devices, though none of the photos he took of students at Zenith Accelerated Learning Academy appear to be vulgar in nature.
The police arrest report says the former Zenith Accelerated Learning Academy janitor was also in a group chat where he traded child sexual abuse images.
St. Cloud police say after receiving a tip from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office in August, the police department’s Internet Crimes Against Children unit launched an investigation.
On Oct. 3, detectives obtained a search warrant for Harden’s home and recovered electronic devices containing at least 226 videos depicting child pornography.
“Some of the things we’ve found so far is extremely disturbing,” said St. Cloud Police Chief Douglas Goerke.
Harden is charged with:
• Ten counts of possession of sexual conduct by a child
• One count of promotion/depiction of sexual conduct by a child
• One count of unlawful use of a two-way communication device
He is being held at the Osceola County Jail on $26,000 bail.
“These crimes are among the most serious and disturbing that we investigate, and we will continue to work with our local, state, and federal partners to ensure those responsible are brought to justice,” said Goerke.
Channel 9 looked into Harden’s criminal history and was only able to locate a traffic infraction out of Lake County.
A spokesperson for the school district said they were not aware of any complaints while Harden was employed as a school custodian.
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