MIAMI, FL – A U.S. Secret Service officer assigned to the White House has admitted to a sickening pattern of online predation, pleading guilty today to federal charges of enticement of a minor and attempted distribution of obscene materials. Lee Robert Moore, 38, of Church Hill, Maryland, confessed in court to engaging with undercover officers posing as juveniles and attempting to solicit explicit content.
The case, prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, reveals a disturbing abuse of power and trust. Moore, employed by the U.S. Secret Service-Uniformed Division at the time of his arrest on November 9, 2015, has been in custody ever since and has since been terminated from his position. He pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Daniel T. K. Hurley.
Investigators with the Delaware Child Predator Task Force uncovered Moore’s depravity after creating a fake profile on the “Meet24” app, a platform for sharing digital images and messages. Over two months, Moore engaged in numerous sexually suggestive online chats with the undercover operative posing as a 14-year-old girl, even while on duty. He sent pictures of himself, including at least one sexually explicit image, according to court documents.
But the Delaware case wasn’t an isolated incident. The investigation broadened, revealing Moore had also communicated with a minor in Florida, sending explicit photos and attempting to entice the victim into sharing similar images. Further digging showed Moore had engaged in similar behavior with a 14-year-old girl in Texas and a 17-year-old girl in Missouri. Moore proactively requested his charges be transferred to Florida to consolidate the guilty plea.
“This is a betrayal of public trust and a horrific example of online exploitation,” stated a source close to the investigation. “Moore used his position and access to technology to target vulnerable children, and he will now face the consequences.” The case was spearheaded by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Delaware Child Predator Task Force, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Steinberg and Trial Attorney Austin M. Berry leading the prosecution.
This prosecution falls under Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation. The program aims to coordinate federal, state, and local resources to identify, apprehend, and prosecute offenders. Anyone with information regarding child exploitation is urged to contact the Department of Justice at http://www.justice.gov/psc. Court documents can be found at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime|Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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