SEMINOLE, Fla. – An adoptive father in Seminole was arrested on multiple child pornography charges after he was caught talking about sexually abusing his 7-year-old son on a messaging app.
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Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri held a news conference Wednesday, announcing the arrest of John David Ballard, 51. He’s now facing multiple charges of possession of child pornography and sexual activity involving animals.
“John Ballard used his position of trust as a foster parent and an adoptive parent to young boys as part of his personal sexual gratification,” Gualtieri said.
Foster system betrayal
What we know:
Gualtieri said the sheriff’s office began investigating after receiving a cyber tip on May 12 that Ballard was having conversations on the messaging app, Kik, about sexually abusing his 7-year-old son. The sheriff said the statements made by Ballard were explicit and graphic.
Pictured: John David Ballard. Courtesy: Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
“In the simplest terms, they’re gross,” Gualtieri said during the news conference.
Deputies served a search warrant for his phone at the beginning of June, which is when Ballard admitted to being involved in the conversations. He even told PCSO when they found videos of sexual activity involving animals that he’s “into some really weird stuff.”
Investigators said they did find that he was accessing sites to view and download graphic child pornography images and sexual activity with animals. Dozens of images were found during PCSO’s search, depicting children as young as two months old, according to deputies.
Ballard’s fostered, adoptive children
Dig deeper:
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said Ballard and his husband have fostered 23 young boys and adopted five over the years. Investigators said they were all between four and 12 years old. Gualtieri said authorities have spoken to most of the foster and adoptive children, some of which are now young men, and some described “concerning behavior that is still under investigation.”
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The sheriff said the boys detailed how they were punished by Ballard to take their clothes off and stand in front of a window facing the street. Authorities also said the suspect also watched them while they showered or took baths.
Pictured: Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri at Wednesday’s news conference.
However, Gualtieri said they don’t have probable cause to arrest Ballard for any additional crimes, but he said the investigation remains ongoing.
Why you should care:
Ballard and his husband were both licensed by the state as foster parents and have both been involved since 2017, the sheriff’s office said. They have both been very active in the foster care community, even authoring a book for foster parents.
“This is really a very difficult case, because it involved the betrayal of trust that the Child Welfare System puts into people who volunteer to help the most vulnerable among us. And, those are children who have been abused, abandoned and neglected,” Gualtieri said.
Child welfare intervention
What’s next:
The Department of Children and Families is also conducting an investigation and will determine what happens to the four adoptive children still living in the home. Ballard’s husband has not been arrested, according to PCSO.
“One thing that is really maddening about the situation is the fraud that Ballard committed on others by holding himself out as this model foster and adoptive parent,” Gualtieri said. “By his own statements, he was using these kids for his sexual pleasure.”
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