Additional information has emerged about a young girl who took her own life, allegedly under the direction of a palliative care doctor.
Stephen Leedy, a 59-year-old palliative care physician from Tampa Bay, has been charged with multiple serious offenses. These charges include three counts of producing child sexual abuse material and two counts of coercing a minor to participate in sexual activities, as revealed by the Department of Justice.
Allegations against Leedy suggest that he played a role in the tragic demise of one of his victims. The victim, a 13-year-old girl, was discovered deceased with a dog leash around her neck, hanging from a shower head. This disturbing information was shared by prosecutors from the Department of Justice.
A spokesperson for the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office told the Tampa Bay Times that the 13-year-old girl’s death was ruled an accident.
Reports indicate that Leedy communicated with the young girl using Discord, a messaging and video chat application. To conceal his true identity, he operated under an anonymous username and never showed his face on camera, according to prosecutors and autopsy records referenced by the Times.
According to the indictment and court filings, Leedy, a palliative care physician in the Tampa Bay area, used the username ‘maximumuncle#9112’ to sexually exploit and target approximately ten minors online,” DOJ officials stated in a press release.
Stephen Romine, a defense attorney in Pinellas, told the Times that the accidental nature of the victim’s death could complicate the prosecution’s ability to charge Leedy with murder.
“If they determined, ‘Well, she did hang herself, but she didn’t intend to hang herself,’ I would not expect him to be charged with a murder,” he said.
Leedy, according Romine, likely won’t be charged under Florida’s “assisting self-murder” law, a manslaughter provision that happens when someone has urged another person to commit suicide.
Prosecutors stated that Leedy instructed the girl to self-mutilate from a distance, complicating any potential charges of child abuse or other violent crimes, according to Romine. Experts in sexual victimization said that predators who operate exclusively online can more easily conceal their activities. Anonymity is easily achieved on platforms like Discord.
Meanwhile, he could face life in prison if convicted in the charges against him. He is currently held in federal custody in Atlanta.
Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo: Dr. Stephen Leedy/ Florida Hospice & Palliative Care Association]
