Thomas Lester Hazouri, Jr., the 40-year-old son of Jacksonville City Council President Tommy Hazouri, is facing federal charges of distributing child pornography after his arrest on Aug. 19.
A criminal complaint that prosecutors released Tuesday said the former Mayport Elementary School second-grade teacher allegedly took two photos of a young girl inside his classroom, images that were included in the more than 120 images Hazouri possessed.
Hazouri, of Jacksonville Beach, faces a minimum of five years and up to 20 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, and a potential life term of supervised release. Hazouri has been detained pending a hearing scheduled for Friday, Sept. 11.
According to the court filing, MediaLab, the company that hosts the Kik messaging app, notified the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that one of its users, identified by user name “mybfsgaynotme,” had uploaded suspected child sexual abuse videos on March 26, 2020, using an account created with the email address tommyhazouri@gmail.com.
Investigation by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office revealed the IP address used to distribute at least four videos depicting child sex abuse to other Kik users matched a computer at Hazouri’s house in Jacksonville Beach.
A search warrant found the Kik account contained 19 images and 45 videos that depicted child sexual abuse.
JSO also confirmed the rug in a photo recovered in this same Kik account matched a rug in Hazouri’s classroom at Mayport Elementary School. That photo and one other showed a child from behind, lying down while fully clothed. One of the photos was taken at an angle to show up the child’s shorts.
JSO also seized an Apple iPhone as well as two laptop computers from Hazouri’s home. Forensic examination of the iPhone revealed that it contained 123 images and three videos depicting child sexual abuse, including depictions of infants and toddlers.
This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Duval County School Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation should contact the FBI Jacksonville office at 904-248-7000.
The details are being released as Hazouri’s father, former Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Hazouri, is set to return to the City Council helm Tuesday evening – his first full council meeting since he had a lung transplant this summer. Hazouri has told WJCT News partner News4Jax he will not be commenting on his son’s arrest.
