‘To Gratify Himself’: Florida Doctor Ordered Children to ‘Cut, Choke and Hang Themselves’ as He Watched on Video Chat. One Victim Died After Tying Dog Leash Around Her Neck, DOJ Says

Investigators initially thought a 13-year-old girl, found hanging from a shower head more than three years ago with a dog leash tied around her neck, died accidentally. But authorities now believe she was following the instructions of a longtime Florida physician she met online. The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday the victim was one of 10 minor girls targeted by 59-year-old George Leedy, a palliative care doctor from St. Petersburg. “He hid behind the cloak of anonymity by either lying about his identity or using a black screen while engaging in video calls with the minor victims,” the DOJ alleges in a press release. Body camera video shows moment cops arrested George Leedy in Holly Springs, Georgia. (Photo:YouTube screenshot/FOX 13 Tampa Bay) “Everything that Leedy instructed these minor victims to do was either physically or mentally detrimental to the minor victims,” the release continues.”He had absolutely no disregard for their safety and took advantage of children more than half his age to gratify himself.” An indictment was handed down on Dec. 26 detailing the charges against Leedy, which include three counts of production of child sexual abuse material and two counts of coercing or enticing a minor to engage...