Man Accused Over Nude Photos at Day-Care Center Slashes Self

A man who allegedly took nude photos of children at his day-care center was found with his right wrist slashed Friday as 14 of the children began undergoing medical and psychological exams.

John Shaver, 56, was in fair condition at Broward General Medical Center after a maid discovered him at a hotel, Ft. Lauderdale police spokesman Maj. Joe Donisi said.

Shaver was admitted as a psychiatric patient, police said. He faces five counts of possessing child pornography for magazines found at his home, just across the street from his Rainbow Learning Center.

Police spokesman Ott Cefkin said the pictures Shaver allegedly took show the children wet or in a wading pool and often covered with finger paint. They do not depict sex acts and are not pornographic, he said.

Fourteen children who attended the day-care center were identified Thursday night by some of the 140 parents who went to the Police Department and sorted through 200 to 300 photos from Shaver’s home. Three other children were tentatively identified and about 60 families still have to review the photographs, Cefkin said.

The children shown in the photos reported to the Sexual Assault Treatment Center on Friday for medical tests and interviews, director Joanne Richter said. The medical tests are “mostly to alleviate the fears of the parents and (to) rule out the possibility of actual sexual abuse,” she said.

Shaver, who was arrested Sunday, admits owning the pictures that police confiscated.