Former Worship Director Accused of "Virtual Sex Acts" with Children

Citrus County Chronicle
July 13, 2017

http://www.chronicleonline.com/content/former-worship-director-accused-virtual-sex-acts-children

Members of the local religious community were shaken Thursday when Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast announced the arrest of a once-prominent figure of Seven Rivers Presbyterian Church.

The church’s former Worship Director Chad Everett Robison, 36, was charged with multiple sex-related crimes against minors after Citrus County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) deputies executed a warrant at his Hernando residence.

“This is a case that has been building,” Prendergast said Thursday afternoon at a news conference. “The magnitude of children that he made contact with is very overwhelming. We may potentially have victims from all over the United States as well as in Canada.”

According to his arrest affidavit, CCSO deputies were called to Seven Rivers in mid-May when Robison’s coworkers attempted to play a prank on him by adjusting his laptop settings, and while doing so

discovered inappropriate pornographic material.

“It was his personal laptop over at the church, he used it at home and at work,” Prendergast said.

After the discovery of videos containing live-recorded sexual encounters with minors, Robison was let go from his position at the church and his digital devices were taken into evidence for forensic investigation.

“Nobody at the church accepts this behavior, which is why they let him go,” Prendergast said.

Prendergast announced Thursday that CCSO detectives have since spent hundred of hours filtering through 3,000 videos and 350,000 photos contained within the laptop.

“We have videos of Robison having virtual sex with an underage female who is non-local, as well as trying to coerce young girls to show him their breasts ... .”

“Routinely he would use a very popular website called Omegle,” CCSO Detective Chris Cornell said. “He would video-chat random girls.”

Robison also frequented picture application Shapchat and video-chat website Skype. Files on his computer dated as far back as 2012.

“He lied about his age; he said to some girls he was 21 years old,” Cornell said.

According to reports, one victim, a 14-year-old girl from New York, said she stopped talking to Robison in April after he expressed interest in meeting her in person. Robison allegedly asked another child victim to keep their encounters a secret.

“He is a textbook predator,” Cornell said. “This is the type of predator we warn kids about.”

Further investigation into Robison’s files also revealed videos of Robison placing a camouflaged video-recording device in his home to secretly film girls using the bathroom and changing their clothes. The victims have not yet been identified.

“Additional charges may be forthcoming as we continue to press through the evidence that we’ve gathered,” Prendergast said.

According to Cornell, none of the crimes occurred on church property. It is unknown if any victims were from the church.

“It will be difficult to identify all of them due to the tools Robison used throughout the commission of his crime,” Prendergast said. “It’s a highly respected church. I know it is devastating to the church and their community.”

Robison served as the Seven Rivers Worship Director from 2011-2017. He was an avid musician and producer of Christian music for the church.

Staff of Seven Rivers declined to comment Thursday. However, staff released a public statement:

“On Thursday, May 11, we received serious allegations about material found on the personal computer of our music director, Chad Robison. Prior to May 11 we had no knowledge or suspicion of improper conduct by Mr. Robison. We investigated these allegations and dismissed Mr. Robison from employment at Seven Rivers Presbyterian Church on Monday, May 15, and banned him from our campus. Simultaneously, we informed the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office of what we had discovered. It should be noted that Mr. Robison was an employee of our church and not of our school. Seven Rivers Presbyterian Church remains committed to full cooperation with the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office in this matter.”

Robison is charged with one count of promoting the sexual performance of a child, three counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition live over a computer online service, and three counts of video voyeurism. His bond is set at $26,000.

“This guy looks just like the guy you would see at the Walmart checkout line and never know it,” Prendergast said. “Our message to parents is you can never be too safe when you’re on the digital platform.”

The sheriff’s office urges parents who believe their child may have been victimized by Robison to call the CCSO Communications Center at 352-726-1121 and ask to speak with a major crimes detectiv