A Florida doctor was federally indicted on allegations he sexually exploited 10 children, including a teenage girl who was found dead after he directed her to hurt herself, according to prosecutors and court documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stephen Andrew Leedy, of St. Petersburg, is charged with three counts of production of child sexual abuse material and two counts of coercing or enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity, the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Middle District of Florid<\/a>a said in a statement Monday<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leedy, 59, a palliative care doctor in the Tampa area, exploited 10 minors online using the username \u201cmaximumuncle#9112,\u201d prosecutors said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leedy was arrested Dec. 20 in Georgia, court records said. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if he is convicted on all charges, according to prosecutors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leedy’s attorneys, Bjorn Brunvand and Lucas Fleming, said Thursday their client was being held at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a statement, the lawyers said that Leedy denies wrongdoing and that they plan to enter a not guilty plea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur client, Stephen Leedy adamantly denies the charges that have been filed against him in federal court. It is particularly important in moments like this when someone is being accused of very troubling allegations, that we afford him the presumption of innocence,\u201d the statement said. \u201cWe will be entering a not guilty plea at the earliest opportunity and look forward to vigorously defending Dr. Leedy in court.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Through online conversations and video chats, \u201cLeedy instructed the minors to produce sexually explicit images of themselves and directed them to cut, choke, and hang themselves,\u201d federal prosecutors said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In November 2022, a 13-year-old girl was found dead in a shower, a motion for pretrial detention said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The girl\u2019s cellphone was propped up on her bathtub directly in front of her, and it showed she had been talking to maximumuncle#9112, who was later determined to be Leedy, according to the motion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through a search warrant, law enforcement reviewed Leedy\u2019s account on a social media application not named in the motion, which showed there were several other minor victims, the motion said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLeedy never revealed his true identity on this online social media application,\u201d the motion said. \u201cHe hid behind the cloak of anonymity by either lying about his identity or using a black screen while engaging in video calls with the minor victims.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n