MIAMI (WSVN) - An assistant principal faced a federal judge, Thursday, after he was arrested on child pornography charges.
On Tuesday, 48-year-old Fienberg-Fisher K-8 Center assistant principal Don Clippinger was arrested on charges of downloading child pornography from the internet, but this isn’t the first time he’s found himself in trouble with the law.
7News learned from a bond hearing, Thursday, that Clippinger had two previous DUI convictions. The government said he used what they referred to as “Application A” to log on to chatrooms to engage in virtual acts of depravity.
In court on Thursday, federal investigators alleged Clippinger had used his personal computer at home and entered chat rooms using the name “666PRV.”
Investigators said this was a video conferencing chat room that shows pictures of child pornography. They also added Clippinger exposed and touched himself in the chat room.
He allegedly held conversations with someone using the name “Pervy Bud.”
Clippinger’s attorney spoke with 7News after Thursday morning’s proceedings. “All we have are allegations. We have neither evidence nor facts,” said attorney Ben Kuehne. “We do know that from the court hearing, it is universally acknowledged Donald is a good person who has a long history, a positive history in South Florida. We intend to provide the best representation in this very difficult case.”
Clippinger spent his days around children, and according to investigators, he spent some of those days online.
According to the criminal complaint against him, Clippinger stated, “while logged into a meeting room of ‘Application A,’ he observed streaming videos of child pornography” and “usually accessed ‘Application A’ in the mornings. They said he also “admitted that he was the male depicted in the images.”
The images they’re referring to are of a nude man on the site touching himself.
His attorney said he will take a closer look at the alleged confession. “We intend to determine precisely what happened while in government custody and will act accordingly,” Kuehne said.
Several family members and two pastors appeared in court, Thursday, to speak on his behalf.
Clippinger’s family used their homes as collateral and posted his $200,000 bond.
Clippinger is expected to be released by the end-of-day, Thursday, on house arrest. His next day in court is Feb. 15.
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