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Former Department of Children and Families Spokesman Al Zimmerman pleaded guilty to a federal child pornography charge today.

Zimmerman was arrested on February 11th last year for persuading six teenage boys to perform sex acts and take pictures. He then sold the pictures overseas. The Florida Attorney General’s Office helped catch Zimmerman. Spokeswoman Sandy Copes said It’s sad to see someone who worked for an agency charged with taking care of kids take advantage of them instead.

“It’s always difficult when you have cases involving child pornography because it always underscores the important of the message that you really don’t know who could be engaging in this. Here you have someone who was well respected in the state and unfortunately ended up being prosecuted by the federal authorities for a really terrible crime,” said Copes.

Zimmer will face a mandatory minimal sentence of 15 years.