A USF St. Pete Historian has been arrested on child pornography charges.
James "Jim" Anthony Schnur was arrested by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and booked at 9:07 a.m. on Thursday. He faces two counts of Prohibit Act in Connection with Obscene Material and ten counts of child porn possession.
In his possession police also found bestiality pornography involving dogs.
It has not been confirmed if Schnur used his school computer to access the material.
Schnur's bio on the USF St. Pete website lists him as an archivist, author, faculty and public speaker. He was also the president of the Pinellas County Historical Society.
USF St. Pete placed Schnur on leave and released the following statement:
"USF St. Petersburg is aware of the reported incident involving James Schnur, but cannot comment as this matter is under investigation. Mr. Schnur has been employed at the university since 2000 and currently serves as Head of Special Collections and University Archives. He is on leave pending the university’s review of the matter."
The school later clarified Schnur's leave:
"The university considers this as unpaid leave pending investigation. Mr. Schnur will use accrued, personal leave."
Schnur lives in a community surrounded by children. His next door neighbor runs an in-home daycare. Starkey Elementary School property butts up to his backyard.
