Ex-DCF spokesman pleads not guilty to child porn charges

TAMPA -- Former Florida Department of Children and Families spokesman Al Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to child pornography charges.

Zimmerman, 40, formerly of Tallahassee and Lakeland, remains in federal custody with no bond. A federal indictment charges him with production of child pornography.

Authorities accused Zimmerman of taking nude photographs of at least two minor, teenage boys, one who has been identified as a foster child in DCF care. Investigators said Zimmerman paid the boys for the pictures he took and said he would sell them to buyers in Germany, England, Sweden and Scotland.

Prosecutors said Zimmerman once offered $200 to one of the boys in exchange for oral sex, but the boy refused. He is accused of committing the crimes in Hillsborough and Orange counties.

Zimmerman was scheduled to be arraigned before a magistrate judge on Thursday but has waived his appearance in court. If convicted of the federal crime, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.

-Kevin Graham, Times staff writer

[Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office]