Lawyer Suspended From Florida Bar for Child Porn Possession
Child pornography is such a ubiquitous crime. People from all walks of life have an interest in it, even though viewing, possessing, creating, and distributing these images is illegal. Even lawyers, which we rely on to follow the law, may get caught up in the attraction of these sexually explicit images.
The Florida Supreme Court has suspended the law license of a Pensacola attorney following his 2024 arrest on dozens of charges involving alleged child sexual abuse material. The man, who previously worked as a senior attorney for the Florida Department of Children and Families, was the subject of an interim suspension petition filed by The Florida Bar after prosecutors charged him with 30 counts related to possession of child sexual abuse material.
In its filing, The Florida Bar argued that the criminal allegations “reflect adversely” on the man’s fitness to practice law. The petition, submitted in December 2025, also stated that the lawyer had become ineligible to practice after failing to meet continuing legal education requirements following his arrest.
A May 8 order from the Florida Supreme Court granted the interim suspension and gave the man 30 days to wind down his legal practice and protect the interests of existing clients before the suspension officially takes effect. His Florida Bar profile currently lists him as ineligible to practice law.
The lawyer remains jailed in Escambia County without bond. Court records show his next hearing is scheduled for August 12.
Investigators arrested the man on April 12, 2024, after law enforcement received multiple cyber-tip reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Authorities said the reports originated through a cloud storage management service associated with Verizon.
According to investigators, the reports involved more than 160 files suspected of depicting child sexual exploitation material stored in a cloud account. Records tied the account to the man’s family phone plan in Charlotte County, Florida. After serving a search warrant at the home of Rigsby’s father, investigators determined that the man allegedly maintained control over the account.
Law enforcement later obtained additional data from the cloud-storage provider and reportedly recovered numerous videos and images involving the sexual abuse of minors, including very young children. Investigators said personal photos connected to the man and his live-in girlfriend were also found within the account data, which authorities cited as evidence the account had not been compromised or hacked.
The man was admitted to The Florida Bar in September 2015 and, prior to the criminal charges, reportedly had no disciplinary history. He joined the Pensacola office of the Department of Children and Families Children’s Legal Services division in 2019 as a senior attorney.
Contact a Legal Professional for Help
Child porn possession is a serious crime. Those with a professional license may find themselves unable to practice any longer.
If you have been accused of child porn crimes, you need to act quickly. Contact a Florida child pornography lawyer from the Law Offices of Gilbert A. Schaffnit to defend yourself from these serious charges. To schedule a consultation, fill out the online form or call (352) 505-1799.
Source:
pnj.com/story/news/crime/2026/05/29/pensacola-lawyer-alex-rigsby-suspended-by-florida-supreme-court-for-arrest/90317215007/
