Optician, missionary for children arrested on child porn possession

COCOA BEACH, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - A Cocoa Beach optician and volunteer for a church mission for children has been arrested, accused of possessing child pornography, according to the Brevard County Sheriff's Office.

David Bressette, 56, was arrested and taken to jail on Wednesday. Deputies say he had ten images and videos on his digital devices depicting children under the age of 12 engaged in sexual activity. 

Brevard County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Tod Goodyear says their investigation began by chance at the optician's Satellite Beach home. He says a family member went to charge a phone and accidentally turned on the screen to one of the suspect's electronic devices.

"The screen came on and the person saw an image that was definitely child pornography," said Goodyear. "At that point, they told another family member about what they had seen and reported it to law enforcement."

That news came as a shock to the First Christian Church of Cocoa Beach, where Bressette volunteers as an optician for the Nicaraguan mission "Through Eyes of Children." On the church's Facebook page is a video showing volunteers preparing prescription eyewear for needy children in Nicaruaga.

A church representative says Bressette has gone on all the missionary trips to the Central American country to fit children for eyewear. Goodyear says the Sheriff's Office is investigating what happened on those trips. 

"As of now, we don't have any evidence based on what we've seized," said Goodyear, "and through the interviews we've done, we've not found that he's involved in any producing child pornography or that he has abused any children. But of course that's something we will continue to look into."

Brisette was given a $150,000 bond and ordered not to use any devices with internet access.