Miami-Dade teacher arrested for possession of child porn after cyber tip, police say

A Miami-Dade public school substitute teacher was arrested Wednesday for possession of child pornography following a nearly year-long investigation that started with a cyber tip, police said.

In October 2023, the Homestead police got a tip from the National Center of Exploited and Missing Children about someone uploading a file possibly containing child pornography, according to Police Capt. Fernando Morales.

Authorities identified him as 37-year-old George Henry Rafols, a substitute teacher at the Air Base K-8 Center in Homestead. He faces one count of possession/promotion of child pornography.

Rafols is the second Miami-Dade school employee to be jailed on child porn charges in less than a month.

In August, Robert Lee Turner, a 62-year-old autism specialist who was employed by the school district, was arrested after being accused of uploading two videos of child porn to more than 50 users, according to Miami-Dade police.

READ MORE: Psychologist with Miami-Dade Schools hoards child porn, distributes it online, cops say.

According to the arrest report, Rafols was identified through internet records after an explicit photo of a 10-year-old girl was uploaded to the Discord messaging app.

With the assistance of Miami-Dade schools police, Homestead officers arrested Rafols at the school. He’s cooperating with investigators.

Rafols appeared in court Thursday morning where his bond was set at $7,500. He was placed on house arrest and GPS surveillance.

“Miami-Dade County Public Schools is profoundly troubled by the concerning allegations made against this individual, leading to his arrest .... He will no longer be able to serve as a substitute teacher in the district,” the school district said in an email to the Miami Herald.

This story was originally published September 4, 2024 at 8:03 PM.