South Florida Photographer Paid 15-Year-Old Girl for Sex, Downloaded Child Pornography: BSO

Douglas Dow Eaton arrested after he paid a 15-year-old girl for sex and downloaded child pornography to his computer: BSO.

A South Florida photographer was arrested after he paid a 15-year-old girl for sex and downloaded child pornography to his computer, authorities said.

Douglas Dow Eaton, 48, was arrested Thursday on two counts lewd and lascivious battery on a victim under 16, one count of procuring a minor for prostitution, seven counts of child pornography, one count using a computer to collect child pornography, according to a Broward Sheriff's Office arrest report released Friday.

Eaton was being held on $101,000 bond Friday, jail records showed.

According to the report, Eaton, of Pompano Beach, paid the girl $180 for the sexual encounter in June. When deputies were serving the warrant for the battery and prostitution charges, they discovered seven pornographic images on electronics in his home, the report said.

Eaton made arrangements with an escort service before the 15-year-old girl came to his house and they had sex, BSO spokeswoman Dani Moschella said.

Eaton's attorney Michael Gotlieb indicated that his client didn't know how old the girl was.

“My understanding is those agencies always advertise that the girls are of age, of legal age, to be quote unquote escorts," Gotlieb said.

Said Moschella: “It doesn't matter what they believe, if the girl is 15, the girl is 15.”

Numerous items were seized including computers, hard drives, memory cards, CDs/DVDs and other digital evidence, the BSO said.

Eaton admitted to stumbling across the images on Internet while searching for porn and admitted to downloading and saving them to computer, the report said.

"He admitted to saving pornographic images from the Internet when he finds them to be 'attractive,'" the report said.

Detectives said they're concerned because through his photography business Eaton has taken pictures of hundreds of children at South Florida schools and athletic teams. On his website he lists shoots at Somerset Academy in Pembroke Pines and Saint David Catholic School in Davie.

“There's no indication that Mr. Eaton has met any victims through his work,” Moschella said. “However, we do want parents and school officials to be aware of who he is and what he looks like and what these charges involve.”

Somerset Academy said in a statement, "A coach from another school recommended him and he just took photos of the baseball team last year. He is not an employee of the school or the school photographer."

The Archdiocese of Miami sent St. David’s parents a letter that read in part, “As you know your child has participated in the age-appropriate Archdiocese of Miami’s ‘Teaching Touching Safety’ lessons and I ask that you take this opportunity to discuss any experience with Mr. Eaton that would have made your child feel uncomfortable."

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