South Daytona teacher, former youth pastor arrested in child porn case

By Amy Pavuk
Orlando Sentinel
July 16, 2014

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-teacher-matthew-graziotti-child-porn-20140715,0,3005154.story

A South Daytona elementary teacher and former youth pastor accused of possessing thousands of child pornography images — including some he produced — remained jailed Tuesday, while federal agents continue to investigate the case.

Matthew Graziotti, 42, was arrested Monday after FBI agents searched his Edgewater home and found the illegal images on his laptop, according to a criminal complaint filed in Orlando federal court.

The same day, Warner Christian Academy announced it suspended Graziotti, a fifth-grade teacher, without pay.

Agents began investigating Graziotti in May, when an undercover agent using a peer-to-peer file sharing program downloaded about 140 child pornography images and six videos from him.

When agents arrived at Graziotti's house on Monday, that file sharing program was running on his laptop, and uploading and downloading files with names that were indicative of child pornography, the complaint said.

A forensic examiner found 8,761 images in one of Graziotti's computer folders, many of which depicted the sexual abuse of boys, court records said.

In a folder titled "personally known," Graziotti created 41 subfolders titled with different boys' names.

Investigators found pictures in one of those folders of Graziotti sexually abusing a boy in his living room in 2012, court records said.

In another folder, examiners found a picture of a boy asleep on Graziotti's couch, and the child's shorts were removed so he was exposed, court records said. That picture was taken in May.

Graziotti faces charges of production, distribution and possession of child pornography.

Anyone with information about Graziotti or other potential victims is asked to call the FBI's Daytona Beach office at 386-252-0463.