The Wrong Voice

Al Zimmerman was the face of the Florida state agency that protects endangered and abused kids. Now Zimmerman, a former television newsman, stands charged with eight counts of offering two teenage boys money to take pictures of themselves while masturbating.

Zimmerman, 40, was fired from his post as spokesman for the state's Department of Children and Families after his arrest in Tampa Bay on Feb. 1. Police say the boys from Tampa and Central Florida were 16 and 17, and they believe the alleged abuse might be more widespread.

"We believe there are additional victims," says Laura McElroy, spokeswoman for the Tampa Police Department. "There are probably victims who are embarrassed to come forward, but we want to reassure them that their identities will be protected."

Although Zimmerman's job did not typically put him in contact with youths, one of the boys in the case was under the department's jurisdiction.

The arrest of Zimmerman—who is described by acquaintances as "jovial" and "a guy's guy"—is the latest setback for the Florida agency, which has been criticized for incompetence and possible corruption.

Incidents in Zimmerman's past are emerging, creating the image of a man with legal troubles for writing bad checks and running up thousands of dollars in unpaid debts. As a TV reporter he was said to have committed a serious ethical breach. Nothing in his past suggests any evidence of abuse or misconduct with juveniles. Zimmerman was released the day after his arrest from the Hillsborough County Jail on $120,000 bail. Although the arrest report states that Zimmerman admitted the charges, he has not issued a plea.

Police say the arrest came after a telephone tip from one of the boys involved in the case. The case—and possible other cases—are being investigated by the state attorney general's cybercrime unit, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI, in addition to the Tampa Police Department.

According to the Tampa Police Department report, Zimmerman paid the boys to photograph themselves while masturbating, and intended to publish the photos and resell them as pornography.