Dr. Brian Birky, 61, the Executive Director and the Research Director for Public and Environmental Health Research at the Florida Industrial and Phosphate Research Institute (FIPR), Bartow, was arrested on March 7 by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) on nine counts of child pornography. He posted a $9,000 bond on March 8, according to the Miami Herald. A spokesperson for Florida Polytechnic University told the local press that Birky is on leave. FIPR is a part of the university.
On March 7, PCSO detectives served a search warrant at Birky’s home in Lakeland after receiving tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that child pornography files were associated with an IP address at that address. The child pornography was determined to have been on a computer or electronic storage device at Birky’s residence between Nov. 14, 2018, and Jan. 1, 2019. Forensic investigations/examinations are ongoing on several electronic devices, storage devices, and storage media collected from the residence. Additional charges may be made as a result of the investigation.