Fort Lauderdale middle school teacher and camp counselor arrested on child porn charges
By Web staff
Click here for updates on this story
BROWARD COUNTY, Florida (WSVN) — A Broward County middle school teacher has been arrested on child pornography charges.
Quinton Womack Wedlaw was taken into custody by Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies on Tuesday while he was working as a counselor at a summer camp.
The 25-year-old suspect appeared before a judge on Wednesday.
“There are 10 counts, all of which are identical,” said the judge as she read the child porn possession charges he is facing.
According to the arrest report, Womack Wedlaw was a teacher at Parkway Middle School in Fort Lauderdale. This summer, he was working as a counselor at Reverend Samuel Delevoe Memorial Park, also in Fort Lauderdale.
Broward County officials said Womack Wedlaw has since been fired from his job as a camp counselor.
BSO investigators said they were tipped off by Google that the suspect had inappropriate images in his account
The arrest report states he was found to be in possession of multiple cellphones and over 25 videos depicting child pornography were located on various devices.
Broward County Public Schools released a statement:
“The District and school leadership are aware of this individual’s arrest. Due to summer break, he is not currently working at the school. For the upcoming school year, he will be reassigned away from the school and students pending the outcome of the case.”
BCPS Parents at the summer camp he worked for said they knew of him and were shocked to hear the news.
“I mean, yes, of course, it is nerve-racking,” said a woman who was picking up her children. “He was friendly, but I never, you know, get any bad vibes or anything from him.”
In court Wednesday, prosecutors practically begged the judge to keep Womack Wedlaw in jail.
“The reason I’m asking for the higher bonds in this matter, I believe this matter is greatly aggravated, based on Mr. Womack Wedlaw’s employment,” said a prosecutor.
The suspect’s attorney argued that, since this is his client’s first arrest, the judge should be lenient, but prosecutors pushed harder.
“Considering that he has chosen jobs where he is surrounded by children, and the allegations in these reports,” said a prosecutor.
The judge acknowledged the arresting deputies could have charged Womack Wedlaw with more.
“There were other alleged items,” she said.
Womack Wedlaw was given a $200,000 bond and has since paid it. However, he needs to be fitted with an electronic monitoring device before he can bond out.
After he bonds out, Womack Wedlaw has been ordered to refrain from stepping foot on any school campus or going to any park or camp frequented by children. He’s also not to have any contact with minors and no access to the internet.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.