Ethan Deneault, 46, of Tampa, Florida (HCSO)
Dr. Ethan Deneault is being held without bail after being charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of children.
By Kiley Petracek
The University of Tampa (UT) physics professor Ethan Deneault was arrested on three felony counts of sexual exploitation of children by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 12, 2024.
Deneault was arrested on-campus in his office on the sixth floor of the Jenkins Health and Technology Building under a fugitive arrest warrant. He was taken to Orient Road Jail.
Deneault’s fugitive warrant was issued by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) after investigators found multiple videos of him allegedly standing at the end of his bed partially naked, watching abusive child pornography on a laptop with a pair of children’s underwear in hand, according to an affidavit. The recordings were taken in January 2023 in Butts County, Georgia.
The three videos allegedly captured Deneault responding to the graphic instructions of a female voice, identified as Heather Clark, to a silver laptop next to him in bed with what appeared to be prepubescent child sexual abuse displayed. Clark directed Deneault on his actions regarding “our 9-year-old little girl.”
Heather Clark was charged alongside three others in May 2023 in Horry County, South Carolina, on three counts of sexual exploitation of children, distribution of child pornography, and one count of sexual exploitation of children or production of child pornography, according to the GBI. Deneault’s videos were taken before Clark’s arrest.
Deneault taught at UT for over 17 years, was part of the Faculty Senate and was the faculty advisor for the Gamers Guild club. He also volunteered at Hillsborough Scholars Summer Academy, a STEM summer program for local middle school students, according to XMol.
In a statement from UT, “The University is aware that Ethan Deneault, professor of physics, was taken into custody by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. Deneault has been placed on administrative leave pending additional information about his arrest. As such, he is not teaching for the spring term and is not present on campus.”
When asked if UT would consider reinstating his position if later found innocent, Assistant Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs Eric Cardenas said, “We don’t comment on personnel matters and will not speculate about future personnel matters.”
“There was no notification to the community because there was no threat to the community,” said the Director of UT’s Campus Safety, Kevin Howell. “That had nothing to do with whether it was an employee or faculty, staff or student, same situation… It doesn’t matter who it was. It depends on what it is.”
According to Howell, since “it had nothing to do with the university,” and it didn’t happen on the university property, the report for Deneault’s arrest will not be included in this year’s annual crime report required by the Clery Act.
Andy Ulrich, a marine science UT student who took his course in 2021, said, “He definitely kind of seemed like a very antisocial person, and it seemed hard for him to relate to people… I think he was a good teacher, but there was some disconnect.”
According to a detention incident report by Officer Anthony Guiliano, as of last week, Deneault has been relocated to the jail’s vestibule “for his own protection due to the nature of his charges.” His status will be reviewed weekly by the Confinement Committee.
The Deneault investigation was launched after an anonymous CyberTip left on Aug. 3, 2023, to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding the possible online possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material, according to the GBI.
The most recent time a UT professor was under similar administrative leave was in Spring 2017 when UT’s orchestra director, Nathan Madsen, was arrested under sex trafficking charges by Homeland Security for trying to pay for sex with a 14-year-old girl, according to ABC’s WFTS Tampa Bay.
As of May 26, 2017, U.S. District Judge Charlene E. Honeywell has sentenced Nathan A. Madsen to 17 years and six months in federal prison, followed by a life term of supervised release, for enticing a child to produce child pornography and for possessing child pornography according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
To access a copy of Hillsborough County’s affidavit regarding Deneault, visit theminaretonline.org.
This article was updated at 11:15 a.m. on Feb. 14, 2024, and 5:42 p.m. on Feb. 19, 2024.