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Pensacola High School Principal Sean Roby Charged with Sexual Assault

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Pensacola police arrested the assistant principal of Pensacola High School on Wednesday afternoon on a sex offense charge. He allegedly filmed a young girl undressing in the bathroom and in her bedroom about five years ago.

According to a report, the victim, who was 17 at the time of the alleged offense, reported the alleged crime to Pensacola police on Wednesday, stating that she believed Sean Roby – who was suspended from his job as PHS assistant principal following his arrest – filmed her undressing in the shower by holding a phone under the bathroom door.

“(The victim) recalled coming out of the shower and seeing an object shaped like a cell phone under the door where the gap meets the floor,” police records state. “(She) stated that the object was black, just like Roby's phone.”

Arrests of former school employees: Six school employees arrested in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in 2023

The victim told officers that she observed this at least three times before she began pushing towels under the door or waiting for Roby to leave the house to take a shower.

Although she did not initially report the incident, in February 2022, Roby gave her his personal laptop so she could use it for college courses. He said he “never asked for it back.” On August 7, 2024, she told authorities she noticed photos on the laptop were linked to Roby's email account.

While reviewing those photos, she came across a 1 minute and 13 second video from March 13, 2019, that appears to show someone outside the home filming through her bedroom window. The victim told authorities the bedroom was identical to the bedroom she had lived in when she lived with Roby.

The victim then showed the video to a PPD officer.

“I observed a person walking from left to right in the room,” the report states. “A white towel was removed from the person and it was apparent that her butt was bare.”

“The subject got dressed and entered the room when the camera began to move,” the report continues. “The subject with the camera in hand left the area through bushes.”

The officer noted in the report that the computer originally belonged to Roby and that the video was linked to Roby's account and email address.

Sean Roby faces five years in prison if convicted

Prosecutors filed criminal charges against Roby on Thursday morning, charging him with video voyeurism, a third-degree felony.

When Roby was booked into the Escambia County Jail, police officers initially arrested him for video voyeurism. He was 19 years old or younger, which under Florida state law describes the age of the defendant, not the victim.

After the prosecutor filed Roby's case, the charge was amended to video voyeurism 19 years ago or older, meaning Roby is older than 19. The victim's age was redacted in the police report.

If convicted of a third-degree felony, Roby faces up to five years in prison.

Escambia County Public Schools suspended Sean Roby after arrest

Escambia County Public Schools told the News Journal they “can confirm yesterday's arrest of one of our employees and are fully cooperating with our law enforcement partners as the investigation progresses.”

“Out of respect for their investigation process and in accordance with our policies as negotiated in our master employment agreement, we cannot provide any additional information at this time other than to state that this individual is suspended pending the outcome of the investigation,” ECPS told the News Journal.

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