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BSO: Broward Teacher Downloaded, Shared Child Porn Images

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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – The Broward Sheriff's Office says longtime teacher Ronald Sherman downloaded child porn images of young children and spoke openly in at least one online chat about his intense desire to have sex with young girls.

BSO Sergeant Thomas McInerney told CBS4 News that BSO's investigation of Sherman, who worked as a science teacher at Apollo Middle School in Hollywood, began in January with a tip from the website Tumblr.

Ronald Sherman MUG
Mugshot for Ronald Sherman, a former Broward County teacher who was arrested on child porn charges. (Source: Broward Sheriff's Office)

"Once we had identified him as a suspect we found out he's employed here in a local middle school as a science teacher, which obviously raises our concern because he's in a position of authority, a position of trust, he has access to children," McInerney said. "It's a scary thing for us."

According to the arrest report in the case, Sherman told detectives that any pictures they would find on his Tumblr site "were 'not sexual' and would be 'considered art.'"

McInerney said that is definitely not the case.

"Not at all. It was absolutely of children, young children. It was absolutely not art. It was disgusting images," McInerney said.

Also in the arrest report, BSO says Sherman chatted with another person on Tumblr talking openly and intimately about his interest in having sex with minor girls.

The arrest report reveals that Sherman spoke in graphic terms about sex with minor girls and made the following comments:

"I love em young! Delicious!"

"Omg! HEAVEN!!!"

"You have really great taste in little girls! I really love this!"

McInerney said that chat was horrifying to read.

"He references his desire to have sex with very, very young children, little girls and with his position as a schoolteacher, his position of authority and access to them that was very disturbing to us," he said.

The Broward school district says Sherman taught science at Apollo Middle School since 2006.

The school district says he resigned his position sometime after BSO began its investigation back in January.

BSO says at this point they are not aware of any allegations that Sherman had inappropriate contact with children but BSO wants to hear from anyone with more information on this case.

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