- April 18, 2024
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A former Bunnell police sergeant convicted of soliciting nude photos from teenage boys was arrested on the afternoon of Tuesday, Feb. 26, for a violation of probation, according to a release by the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
Michael Stavris, 34, of Palm Coast, was arrested in 2014 by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and was originally charged in March 2014 with two counts of computer pornography under the Computer Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act, and one count of criminal use of personal identification information. The charges were amended in a plea deal to two counts of felony child abuse and one count of fraudulent use of ID.
He was sentenced on July 26, 2016, to three years in prison followed by five years of probation. He was released from prison on Feb. 11, 2019.
A condition of his probation states that he cannot create or maintain an online social media account. On Feb. 15, deputies received a report that Stavris had possibly created a Facebook account under a fictitious name. FCSO accompanied Stavris’ probation officer to conduct a probation check on Feb. 26. A search of Stavris' cell phone revealed that the cell phone was used to access, maintain and upload photos to Facebook which is in direct violation to the terms of his probation.
He was taken to the Flagler County Jail and placed without bond.
“It is very alarming that this individual would violate his probation so quickly after being released from prison,” Sheriff Rick Staly said in a release. “He has apparently not learned his lesson... . I hope he is sentenced to a lengthy prison term so he cannot exploit children or anyone else in the future.”
