Wild moment ‘pedophile’ Florida doctor is arrested by huge fleet of police as dumbfounded wife looks on

Dramatic video showed an alleged pedophile doctor being arrested by a fleet of police as he drove with his stunned wife and mother-in-law.

Dr. Stephen Andrew Leedy was arrested on December 19 after claiming he got children to send him sex photos and helped a girl commit suicide. Bodycam footage of that arrest was shared on Tuesday.

Officers were searching for the 59-year-old palliative care specialist after a warrant was issued for his arrest in his home state of Florida.

Authorities were looking for Leedy after they said he forced children to perform sex acts online and helped a young girl hang herself more than two years ago.

On December 19, they caught up with him while he was driving with his wife Lynda Leedy and his mother-in-law.

Four police cars are seen swarming his red SUV, pulling him out of the vehicle and quickly handcuffing him as he asks, “What’s going on here?”

Leedy doesn’t seem shocked at all as he says, “I’m assuming this is a case of mistaken identity, I don’t know about a warrant. I have a paid job, I am a doctor. I didn’t notice anything.’

Officers quickly inform him that he would not have been notified of a warrant as he is sitting in the back of one of their police cars.

The officer recording the arrest is also later seen in the clip retrieving Leedy’s phone from his car, with Leedy appearing to give up his password.

An officer is also seen talking to his wife Lynda, who appears shocked by her husband’s arrest.

You hear her say, ‘Does he have a key to the house? Can I go talk to him?’, to which she is told she can’t.

Lynda continues, “What happens now? This is my husband,” as the officer informs her that she is free to leave and should do so.

After asking why her husband was being taken to jail, officers told her it was up to her husband to tell her what his warrant was for.

As she goes back and forth about where her husband is going, she asks the officer, “Can you tell him we’re going to the lake house,” as the footage ends.

There is no indication that Lynda was aware of her husband’s alleged crimes and from the footage she seems to assume that he is being arrested on a minor matter, which will soon see him released by the police.

In a statement, the Holly Springs Police Department said, “On December 19, 2024, the Holly Springs Police Department received a BOLO for an individual wanted out of Florida for child pornography and in connection with the death of a juvenile.

“Officer Brandon Cantrell, Officer Riley Landry and Lt. Naveed Babar began patrolling the area.

‘Officers found the car and arrested the perpetrator. Custody of the perpetrator was transferred to the FBI.”

Formal charges were announced on Monday against Leedy, who allegedly used the online username maximummuncle and encouraged children to produce explicit material for him.

In a review of court documents by DailyMail.com, most of which contain details too gruesome to publish, authorities say Leedy encouraged the young girl to commit extreme sexual acts on herself while encouraging self-harm.

Prosecutors say the doctor “was very clearly involved in this predatory behavior involving approximately 10 child victims across the country.”

Leedy allegedly spoke to his victims by video calling them, but he kept his screen black and never revealed his identity to the victims. Tampa Bay Times reported.

He has a clean medical license with the Florida Department of Health.

Leedy was arrested after the 13-year-old girl he was allegedly grooming committed suicide after he sent her instructions on how to do so.

The victim, whose name has not been given, recorded the last harrowing act.

A subsequent search of her messages is said to have identified Leedy as her groomer.

Leedy faces death behind bars if convicted of the three counts of producing child sexual abuse material and two counts of coercing or enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity he now faces.

The doctor lives in a $1.1 million home a few blocks from the St. Petersburg beach with his wife, Lynda, who serves in a senior executive role with Pinellas County.

She is said to be ‘shocked’ by the news of her husband’s arrest.

Prosecutors wrote, “Everything Leedy instructed these child victims to do was physically or mentally harmful to the child victims.

‘He had absolutely no regard for their safety and took advantage of children older than half his age to gratify himself.’

Lynda served as Chief Administrative Officer for the Pinellas County Youth Services Board for the past ten years.

Her husband’s arrest came as a “complete shock” to her, according to a statement from Pinellas County Tuesday morning.

Pinellas County CEO Beth Houghton said she was “stunned and saddened” by Lynda and has “complete confidence” that she can continue in her role as before.

Houghton said Lynda did not work with children and was required to undergo a strict background check before being hired, further underlining that she knew nothing of her husband’s alleged crimes.

The statement concluded: “During this challenging time, we ask for mercy, empathy and privacy for Ms. Leedy and her family.”

Leedy was seen as an authoritative voice on palliative care, which aims to keep terminally ill people comfortable during their final weeks or months.

He spoke on the subject at conferences and traveled to Lancaster University in England to share his expertise with other doctors and medical students.

Leedy’s attorneys Bjorn Brunvand and Lucas Fleming said in a statement to DailyMail.com: ‘Our client, Stephen Leedy, adamantly denies the charges filed against him in federal court.

“It is especially important at times like these, when someone is accused of deeply disturbing allegations, that we grant them the presumption of innocence.

“We will enter a not guilty plea as soon as possible and look forward to serving Dr. Leedy vigorously defended in court.’