Law&Crime Sidebar - Florida Doctor Forced Kids to Do Sex Acts While He Watched: Feds

Episode Date: March 8, 2025

Federal prosecutors say Stephen Leedy, a hospice doctor in Florida, targeted children through online chats and video calls. Authorities say they have proof that Leedy demanded that the child victims do sexually explicit acts, as well as harm themselves, for his gratification. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber has details on the heinous charges Leedy faces, as well as the reasoning behind the court’s decision to deny him bond.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Remove your personal information from the web at https://joindeleteme.com/sidebar and use code Sidebar for 20% off! DeleteMe international plans: https://international.joindeleteme.com HOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger, Christina O'Shea & Christina FalconeScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. I'm assuming this is a case of mistaken identity. I know nothing of a warrant. I've had, I mean, I'm gainfully born. I'm a position. We're getting a look at the moment. Police took a dangerous suspect into custody. This Florida doctor is accused of doing things to children that I will tell you right now I have never even heard of before. We are going to take a closer look at this body camera video and the charges he's facing in federal court. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by law and crime. I'm Jesse Weber. All right, I got to set the stage for this one.

So you got a doctor who's serving hospice patients in the St. Petersburg, Florida area. now facing a federal indictment for allegedly sexually exploiting 10 children, including a 13-year-old girl who was found dead. We have 59-year-old Stephen Leedy arrested last year just before Christmas in Holly Springs, Georgia. This is north of Atlanta. He, his wife, his mother-in-law, told police they were headed up to the scenic area of Blue Ridge for the holiday. They were about two hours away from their destination when Holly Springs officers pulled them over. on the interstate after they got word of a warrant out for Leedy's arrest. Now, Leedy was calm as officers instructed him to get out of the SUV.

Step out of the car. What's going on? The train's behind you back. All righty. Let's talk with her. Stay right here. You got any weapons on you? No, sir.

You got any weapons on you? No, sir. You're going to turn around here. All you is back down in code two. Back there in code two. Hey, Wals, you can go ahead and get your car out of the road. All right, sit right there. Let us get everything situated and I'll update you in just a second, okay?

Now the police don't immediately tell Leidy what the warrant is for. They want to be absolutely sure they have the right guy. And as they work to confirm Leidy's identity with other agencies, the doctor questions why he would have a warrant. nothing of a warrant. I've had, I meanfully important, of a position, I had no notice of anything. I've had no... You don't get notified when there's a warrant out there. Well, but I'm saying I've had... All right, what I say? Before we talk to you, okay? Yeah, there's got to be solid, anything you say you can't...

Which has ID? Where's that deed? Where's that deed? So an officer reads leading his rights, pats him down, and then sits him in the back of a patrol car. They've been... We've got a bullet on this tag, but with you with a warrant, okay? But I know something. about this? Would I know that there was some issue? Sarge's got it. He took it. They wouldn't notify you over there. I'm a hospice physician. I paid my taxes. I'm in good standing. I haven't. So that also did read you your rights, right? You did. You understand them fully, correct? I did. I'm not telling you anything that would. No, no, I just want to make sure I am. Yeah, yeah. I'm coming up here with my family for Christmas.

Is your family's in the car? Yeah. My mother-in-law and my wife. Where are you going? We have a place in Blue Ridge. Okay. So I guess I'm, and because you've got me handcuffed and all too, is this, what's alleged something violent potentially? Is it something that what? Violent potentially? We'll explain it here just a minute. I own no weapons. I understand that, okay.

Do you have kids in the car? No. Just you and your wife? My mother-in-law. Your mother-in-law is in there, too? Cheers. Okay. I got to say, as this story and maybe most of the stories on sidebar show, the world can be something.

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When you go to join DeleteMe.com slash Sidebar and make sure to use promo code Sidebar at checkout. Now, after triple checking the warrant details, an officer gives Leedy more information about why he's in handcuffs. All right, so here's what you're warrants for, okay? We got Fanon. They're going to send us everything, but I'm going to go ahead and tell you, okay? They got you in production of child pornography, okay, and coercion, an endangerment of a minor to engage in sexual activity in violation of the 18 U.S.C. So that's what your warrants for with your name. They got all your information, your photo, they have everything.

So that's what the warrants for, okay? That's never happened. That's just what it's for, okay? That's what you got it for. I mean that's not even possible I understand I'm just going off what they're saying they got warrants in hand

to have your photograph they have everything okay and that's why all of us are out here that's a pretty serious crime so that's why all this police presence that's why we're all here and that's what it's for now you know

I just didn't want to tell you right away just in case like you said you mistake identity whatever it is but as far as i know fanning county has everything you got your name your address your car they got your photo they got warrants in hand for you okay so that's where we're at right now okay so yeah i don't have anything other than what the warrant says right now we're on the phone with fanning county um they're going to send us everything So that's what it is right now, okay? This doesn't make any sense, but I understand.

I wish I had, I wish I could tell you more. We're heading to Fannard County. I mean, that's where our cabin is. Well, that too has a warrant for you. We have, so we have rental, I'm just directing my brain here. We have rental cabins. Find out which one is his phone in. Where's your phone?

It's in the car. What does it look like? It's a yellow. It's a yellow phone in the car. That officer is going to get it, okay? Is there anything illegal in the car? No. Nothing?

Okay. We're going to take him with PD. Yep. We're going to watch him. Okay. Make sure he has nothing on him. Okay. He's good.

Fanon is going to come down? Yeah. That API's going to. Okay. So this is what's going to happen, okay? This officer here, the officer Cantrow is going to transport you to our police department, okay? Where are some people are going to come and talk to you, all right? that's it okay yeah we're going we're going to let your wife know okay so what

what are they going to do i'm assuming they're probably going to continue on where they're going so leady seems pretty dumbstruck by the allegation that he might be involved in the creation or possession of child sexual abuse material the police take them to headquarters where leady was then turned over to the fbi his wife his mother-in-law they were free to leave but officers didn't reveal at the time exactly why Lidi was in custody, only saying he had five warrants out for his arrest. And that was for good reason. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida announced in January that Leady had been indicted on three counts of production of child sexual abuse material and two counts of coercing or enticing a minor

to engage in sexual activity. According to court documents under the username Maximum Uncle number 911, Lidi allegedly victimized 10 children through online chats and video calls. And the Tampa Bay Times reports that Lidi even used the video game messaging platform Discord. Now, prosecutors allege that not only did Lidi demand that these alleged victims do things that were sexually explicit, but he directed them to cut, choke, and hang themselves. When I told you, I've never heard anything like this before, that is what I'm talking about. And you know what happened? Because of these instructions, prosecutors allege that a 13-year-old girl was found dead in November of 2022, that she was found in front of her phone, quote,

in a manner consistent with instructions Leedy had previously provided her. So investigators, they searched this young girl's phone, and they found messages. They found messages with Maximum Uncle who police say they were able to identify as Mr. Leedy. And by the way, according to People magazine, investigators claim that the conversations prove Leady was aware that these alleged victims were in fact minors. This 13-year-old's death, it was ruled accidental, according to a Pascoe County Sheriff's Office email to the Tampa Bay Times. But in terms of liability, in terms of who might be responsible, let's talk about this. So the motion for pretrial detention that was filed by federal prosecutors, it is incredibly graphic. It is so graphic that we can only include portions of it here.

And it's pretty disgusting to read. It actually made me nauseous. I'm not going to lie to you. It includes messages that Lidi reportedly sent to children asking them to perform vulgar sex acts on camera. The motion, as well as the indictment itself, names three alleged victims. Minor victim number one, that is the 13-year-old girl who was found dead in the bathroom of her home in 2022. Minor victim two, according to the pretrial detention motion, was 13 when she started talking to Lidi. And then minor victim three, reportedly told Liddy at first that she was 16, but in reality, prosecutors say she was 11 or 12 years old when the alleged abuse started.

According to the motion, quote, on or about October 30th, 2022, Leidy sent minor victim one the following message while the two are engaged in a video chat during which Leady was nude, lady wrote or allegedly wrote, Yay, can you get naked and take a video of us both and send it to me on here? The filing goes on to say that the victim got completely undressed and that lady started pleasuring himself. And another message to another young victim. Lidi allegedly wrote,

Go get the belt so we can start choking you. Put it on loose. Have you ever put the end of the belt over the top of your door and then close the door? Make the belt tighter. This is some of the most disgusting stuff I have ever read. In a message sent to minor victim number three, Liddy allegedly wrote, such a pretty body and, quote, you have the perfect little girl body. I love it so much.

According to the motion, pursuant to a search warrant, law enforcement reviewed Leady's account on an online social media application and discovered several other minor victims who apparently Leady instructed to produce child pornography, self-mutilate, or hang or choke themselves. Leady never revealed his true identity on this online social media application. And when he spoke to the minor victims on video chat, he maintained a black screen to further conceal his identity. That's what the filing says.

The motion also states, quote, Lidi's conversations with other minor victims on the online social media application also revolved around production of child pornography and self-harm slash self-mutilation. And remember, the feds believe that Lidi targeted at least 10 children online. So let's take a look at what Lidi is charged with here, okay? count one of the indictment accuses Leidy of production of child sexual abuse material. It reads on or about October 30th, 2022 in the Middle District of Florida and elsewhere. The defendant, Stephen Andrew Leedy, did employ, use, persuade, induct, entice, and coerce, minor victim one,

to engage in any sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual depiction of such conduct or for the purpose of transmitting a live visual depiction of such conduct. and the visual depiction was produced and transmitted using materials that had been mailed, shipped, and transported in and affecting interstate and foreign commerce by any means, including by computer. Count two, same charge, but it's in connection with minor victim number two in December of 2021. And then count three, coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. The indictment reads, from on or about December 4th, 2021 through on or about July 6, 2022, in the Middle District of Florida and elsewhere. The defendant, Stephen Andrew Leedy,

using a facility and means of interstate commerce, did knowingly persuade, induce, entice, and coerced an individual who had not attained the age of 18 years, minor victim, too, to engage in sexual activity for which any person could be charged with a criminal offense, specifically Florida statute, lewd or lascivious battery, lewd or lascivious conduct,

sexual performance by a child, and prohibited computer usage. Count four, production of child pornography. Count five, coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and their connection with victim three in November of 2021. Now, Lidi was arraigned on the charges he entered a not guilty plea in January, but what it came to whether or not Lidi would be granted pretrial release, prosecutor said, maybe not surprisingly, he was a danger to the community. The motion for pre-trial. trial detention reads, the court must order detention if after holding a hearing, it determines that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant as required and the safety of any other person in the community. The court applies a preponderance

of the evidence standard in determining whether the defendant poses a flight risk and a clear and convincing standard in determining whether the defendant poses a danger to the community. Those are obviously lower standards than beyond a reasonable doubt. It goes on to say, In determining whether detention is warranted, the court must consider the following factors, the nature and circumstances of the offense charged, the weight of the evidence against the person, the history and characteristics of the person, including the person's character, physical and mental condition, family ties, employment, financial resources, length of residence in the community, community ties, past conduct, history relating to drug or alcohol abuse, criminal history,

and record concerning appearances at court proceedings. The nature and seriousness of the danger to any person in the community that would be posed by the person's release. Here the factors generally weigh in favor of detention. The nature and circumstances of the offenses charged are extremely serious. Leedy directed the three minor victims named in the indictment along with approximately seven additional minor victims to produce child pornography while on video calls with him to satisfy his own sexual deviant interest in children. The conversations continually resolved around his control over the minor victim, commenting on how obedient they are and asking at least one minor victim to refer to him as, my lord. He hid behind the cloak of anonymity by either lying about his identity or using a black screen while engaging in video calls with the minor victims.

He directed several of the minor victims to engage in self-mutilation, specifically telling them how and where to cut themselves. Additionally, Lidi directed several of the minor victims to choke and hang themselves while he watched. Everything that Lidi instructed these minor victims to do was either physically or mentally detrimental to the minor victims. He had absolutely no disregard, although I think they meant regard, for their safety and took advantage of children more than half his age to gratify himself. The weight of the evidence against Lidi is extremely strong. Through social media conversations and investigative means, law enforcement confirmed Lidi's ownership over the account used to encourage minors to engage in sadistic and sexual behavior. Minor victims have been interviewed, identified themselves within conversations, and confirmed the horrific acts Lidi instructed them to do. Leidy very clearly engaged in this predatory behavior with approximately 10 minor victims across the country.

And the government ended their request for pretrial detention by saying Lidi is an extreme danger to minors in society and his release from custody would be in direct conflict with maintaining community safety. And you know what? The judge agreed. Noting in her decision, there is a rebuttable presumption that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant as required and the safety of the community because there is probable cause to believe that the defendant committed one or more of the following offenses, and then the box next to an offense involving a minor

victim is checked. And the paperwork also noted that Leady would be subject to a lengthy prison sentence if he's convicted, possibly spending the rest of his life behind bars. And the document also indicated that Leady, quote, has significant family or other ties outside of the United States and that there was a prior attempt to evade law enforcement, but no further details were provided about that. Now, first I have to just talk about something. So these are incredibly serious charges, and I think it's a fair argument to make that they have a lot of evidence proving he did this. So a lot of people might be saying, how come he's also not charged with manslaughter or murder or criminally negligent homicide when it comes to the death of the 13-year-old? Well, first of all, these are federal charges, not state charges.

He could be charged at a state level. It may be more difficult to prove manslaughter, you know, acting recklessly in a way that caused the death of another. Not unheard of. Remember the Michelle Carter case in Massachusetts? Someone could persuade somebody else to engage in a reckless conduct and they may be held on the hook. I mean, look at the parents of school shooters who have been found guilty of manslaughter. If you create a reckless condition whereby somebody engages in conduct and somebody dies. So it's not outside the realm of possibility he could be charged with that, but he's facing incredibly serious charges at the federal level. There's a strong possibility he would be convicted if this goes.

to trial based purely on this evidence, although he is entitled to a defense, of course. But you might be saying this is an easier shot to get him convicted and spend the rest of his life in prison than perhaps a more complicated case at a state level. But then again, nothing preventing him from being charged at a state level. Just something that I was thinking about, haven't seen anything in our research to indicate that that was on the table, that he could be charged directly in connection with the 13-year-old's death. But again, just something to think about.

Now, Mr. Leedy, he is what was called a palliative care doctor in the Tampa Bay area. He worked with patients going through hospice at the end of their lives. And Leady's wife, Linda, had served as chief administrative officer of the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County for the last 10 years. The board's CEO put out a statement after Stephen Leedy was arrested, saying Ms. Leedy is a valued member of J.WB's executive leadership team, where she holds herself and others to the highest standards of ethical and professional behavior and possesses impeccable integrity. While this news leaves us stunned and saddened for Ms. Leady, her family and any potential victims in this case, I have the utmost confidence in her ability to continue to carry out

JWB's mission of strengthening the lives of our county's children and families. In other words, this seems to suggest she had absolutely no idea about these allegations surrounding her husband. now linda leady ended up resigning from her position she hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing said in her own statement to the board i understand that the extraordinary circumstances surrounding my personal situation have made my continued employment untenable now there are always two sides of the story everybody's entitled to a defense so attorneys for mr leady have maintained that he is innocent saying our client stephen leady adamantly denies the charges that have been filed against him in federal court It is particularly important moments like this when someone is being accused of very troubling allegations that we afford him the presumption of innocence. Of course, he's entitled to that.

We will be entering a not guilty plea at the earliest opportunity and look forward to vigorously defending Dr. Leedy in court. And by the way, that also means trying to exclude this evidence from coming into trial, which would severely weaken the prosecution's case and on top of maybe potentially cross-examining these alleged victims. So we'll see which way the defense goes. What we do know is that a jury trial is scheduled for this summer. That can obviously change. The date could be pushed back. But the attorneys are expected back in court for an update in May. And as I mentioned, if convicted on all counts, Stephen Leedy faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison.

We will continue to follow this story as the case progresses. I apologize for having to go into this detail. But it is important to understand the evidence against him and shining a light on the dangers of the dangers of. what is out there. It's all we have for you right now here on this episode of Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us. As always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber.

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