MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A Miami-Dade police officer facing 19 charges related to possession of child pornography was arraigned in court Friday.
Officer David Behney, 33, was brought to TGK on Thursday night, following a weekslong investigation between the State Attorney’s Office and Miami-Dade Police Department.
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In court Friday, Behney’s attorney asked the presiding judge, Gisela Cardonne Ely, to amend the conditions of his release by reducing his bond and allowing him to have contact with his three children, who are all under the age of 8.
Judge Cardonne Ely denied both requests and set a $95,000 bond.
Behney, who posted bond, was also told he could not have access to weapons or the internet unless it is to contact his attorney through a Zoom call.
“In the charges there aren’t any allegations related to his own children, said attorney Diego Weiner, who is representing Behney.
“I know what the charges are, and I’m not allowing any contact at this time,” said Judge Cardonne Ely.
According to his arrest warrant, the investigation began back in November of last year through a cyber tip received by MDPD that was “based on a report by Kik messenger who observed child pornography being uploaded to the service,” involving eleven young girls engaged in sexual acts.
On April 6 of this year, a body warrant was obtained, and his iPhone was reviewed where police “discovered eight additional videos containing child pornography.” Police said some of the girls in those videos appeared to be less than eight years old.
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Investigators were led to Behney through an IP address.
Police began an investigation not knowing who the individual was but as they traced the IP address for the downloads, they discovered it was Behney, a Miami-Dade police officer who has been with the department for six years.
Investigators say they found 19 videos on the officer’s cell phone. They were described as hardcore, explicit videos of children, believed to be between the ages of 8 and 13.
Detectives have also seized the officer’s home computer and all other electronic devices and if they find additional images and videos, additional charges will be filed.
CBS4 News was told Behney was cooperating with detectives then suddenly stopped.
Miami-Dade Police Director George Perez sent out a statement that read, “Our children trust us to keep them safe and out of harm’s way. Not only as law enforcement, but as a father, a crime against a child is intolerable — and will never be accepted. It sickens me to learn that one of our law enforcement officers is involved in betraying that trust. We will ensure transparency to our community and will provide an update as this investigation continues.”
Steadman Stahl, the President of the South Florida PBA, told CBS4’s Peter D’Oench, “It’s disappointing when any police officer gets arrested. We don’t have much information and we are not representing the officer in this case. It is certainly not something that any police officer would condone but we will have to see how this plays out.”
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“It is a little bit shocking and disappointing. We are going to have to see the evidence and how this proceeds.”
