Investigators said a Baptist hospital worker was searching through the phone’s photo gallery to identify the owner when she found sexual images of children.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A search through a hospital lost and found led to the chance discovery of illegal pictures on a healthcare worker’s phone, according to a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office report.
On March 31, an off-duty officer at Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville on Prudential Drive was called to the hospital’s security office. According to the report, a woman had called to see if one of several phones in the lost and found was hers. The woman told the hospital worker that her phone would be easily identifiable by the most recent photo in her photo gallery.
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Only one of the three phones matching the description provided by the caller was unlocked, the worker told police. According to the report, after opening the iPhone’s photo gallery, the witness told investigators she saw sexual abuse images of children.
The worker and investigators identified the owner of the phone as 62-year-old James “Kurt” Auwaerter, a home health physical therapist. Investigators said he told the complainant that he had forgotten the phone while it was charging and would grab it when he returned to work.
After obtaining a search warrant, investigators said they identified more than 550 illegal or suspicious photos and videos on Auwaerter’s devices, including two depicting child sexual battery, according to the report.
Auwaerter was arrested by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office on May 15 and booked into the Duval County jail on 10 charges of possessing ten or more images of child sexual abuse material. His arraignment is scheduled for early June.
First Coast News reached out to Baptist Health for information on his connection to the hospital and was told that an official would provide a statement on Wednesday.