NEWS

A Palm Beach County School District official is facing serious child abuse charges following allegations of inappropriate behavior that reportedly occurred in his home.

Norman Riemer, 54, was arrested and charged with five counts of lewd or lascivious acts involving a child under the age of 12. According to a spokesperson for the Palm Beach County School District, Riemer is in the process of being terminated. He is currently listed as a secondary science instructional specialist on the district’s website.

This marks the fourth arrest in recent months involving individuals connected to the Palm Beach County School District, including substitute and former teachers.

According to a report from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, the alleged incident occurred about a year ago while Riemer was babysitting two 6-year-old children. Authorities say he allowed the children to touch him inappropriately on three occasions. When an adult later learned of the behavior and confronted Riemer—after verifying the children’s claims—he allegedly admitted to the misconduct.

Child Rescue Coalition’s Director of Engagement, Adam Levine shares, “It could be anyone. In fact, the crime type itself is really about having an interest in this and then gaining access to material or children to feed that urge. So I think it’s not what a person looks like. It’s what’s going on in their mind, which is obviously not visible to anybody else,” he said.

He said the suspects don’t normally fit the narrative seen in movies or on TV.

“A trusted adult is a part of the formula for this crime. I mean, the reality is it’s about gaining access to children and the only way to gain access to children, generally speaking, is by becoming a trusted adult to some other adult who has access to children,” he said.”It could be anyone. In fact, the crime type itself is really about having an interest in this and then gaining access to material or children to feed that urge. So I think it’s not what a person looks like. It’s what’s going on in their mind, which is obviously not visible to anybody else,” he said.

“This is a crime of epidemic proportions that affects everybody around the world to some extent and because this is a crime of access, it’s really about identifying child predators and technology is a great tool to do that,” Levine said.

“We have an opportunity to really build some of the most advanced technology in the space and hand it out to law enforcement free of charge and really watch them go out and do their job and identify child predators and rescue children. It’s really an incredible thing to be a part of,” he said.

“I think in my experience and the experience of most law enforcement officers, it’s really a single crime type and it boils down to the predator as an individual and what access he has to material or children. There’s certainly an intent to do that from the time you start committing any version of this crime.”

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