St. Cloud Police reported Wednesday it had made an arrest in the case of a man, who worked at an Osceola County school until recently, they say had hundreds of images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children stored on his electronic devices.
Mark Stone Harden, 57, of St. Cloud, was arrested and charged with 10 felony counts of possession of sexual conduct by a child and one count each of promotion/depiction of sexual conduct by a child and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
According to police, after receiving a tip in August from the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, its Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) unit launched an investigation into the suspect's Amazon Photos account with images uploaded during a back from an Apple iPhone, according to the arrest warrant. On Friday, Oct. 3, detectives obtained a search warrant for Harden’s Georgia Avenue home and recovered electronic devices containing hundreds of images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children. Police made contact with the suspect later that day at a nearby intersection.
According to the warrant, Harden admitting participating in a group chat which involved sharing child sexual assault materials (CSAM) and having it on his iPhone. A forensic search of the phone showed "hundreds of videos which depict children being sexually abused and exploited. The exact number is yet to be determined but so far 226 videos have been identified as being (CSAM)."
He was subsequently arrested on multiple felony charges related to the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material.
Police said Harden worked at the Zenith Accelerated Learning Academy near Cross Prairie Parkway and U.S. 192 until his resignation last week, according to the Osceola County School District. The warrant noted a chat thread found on the phone that included photos he secretly took of adults and children. "These images also included children at the school Mark Harden works at, and included remarks about the child's body parts," the arrest warrant noted. "None of the images Mark Harden took are vulgar in nature and do not included any nudity or voyeurism."
He is being held at the Osceola County Jail on a $26,000 bond, SCPD spokesperson Andrew Sullivan said.
“These crimes are among the most serious and disturbing that we investigate, and we will continue to work with our local, state, and federal partners to ensure those responsible are brought to justice,” St. Cloud Police Chief Douglas Goerke said. "The arrest in this case reflects our department’s unwavering commitment to protecting children from exploitation."
As the case remains an active investigation, police are seeking out any other possible victims. If you believe you or your child may be a victim in this case, please contact SCPD Det. Robbie Rivera at 407-891-6700, extension 6726 and reference SCPD Report #25-004286.
