Hello Everyone,
Evelyn here,
The OAG unit of CyperCrime is up and working with early and extraordinary result already the have been to major arrest of sexually predators believing that them where meeting minor. One case involved a 13year-old girl and the other case a 13 year old boy.
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From the Office the Attorney Beneral
A Press Release
October 24, 200
Time: 10:27 AM
ATTORNEY GENERAL'S CYBERCRIME UNIT MAKES 50TH ARREST, FIRST ARREST FOR NEW ORLANDO OFFICE
Deltona Man Thought He Was Traveling To Meet A 14-Year Old Girl For Sex
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced the
50th arrest made by his Child Predator CyberCrime Unit and the first by the
unit's new Orlando Office. Authorities with the CyberCrime Unit arrested
Douglas R. Phillips this morning after he traveled to meet who he thought
was a 14-year old girl for sex. Phillips's actions will be charged under
the new CyberCrimes Against Children Act, which created a new crime for
traveling to meet a child or someone believed to be a child for the purpose
of sexually assaulting that person.
"Had it not been for the dedicated team working around the clock to
bring this predator into custody, he might have continued to victimize any
number of children," said Attorney General McCollum. "Cases such as this
remind us of the dangers lurking on the internet and the determination with
which a predator will hunt for victims. We must and will continue our
efforts to protect Florida's youngest citizens."
An undercover investigator with the CyberCrime Unit was approached in
an internet chatroom by Phillips, who believed he was talking to a teenage
girl. Over two weeks of conversation, Phillips, 47, sexually solicited the
"girl" online and sent multiple pornographic images to the agent.
Eventually, Phillips told the "girl" he wanted to meet her and take her to
live with him. Phillips, of Deltona, was taken into custody this morning by
law enforcement officers with the CyberCrimes Unit, the Florida Department
of Law Enforcement and the Seminole County Sheriff's Office.
Phillips was booked into the Seminole County Jail. He will be charged
with solicitation of a minor, transmission of harmful materials to a minor
and traveling to meet a minor to commit an unlawful sex act. If convicted
on all charges, he faces up to 25 years in prison. The case will be
prosecuted by attorneys with the CyberCrime Unit.
The arrest was the first made by the Orlando Office, which hosted its
grand opening just last Monday. The new location is the first additional
office to open as part of Attorney General McCollum's statewide expansion
of the unit, which has been operating out of Jacksonville since its
inception in October 2005. Five additional offices will open in the Ft.
Lauderdale, Ft. Myers, Pensacola, Tallahassee and Tampa areas over the next
several months.
The Child Predator CyberCrime Unit's mission is to protect children
from computer-facilitated sexual exploitation. The unit does this by
working cooperatively on a statewide basis with law enforcement agencies
and prosecutors to provide resources and expertise, while preventing the
spread of these crimes through education and community awareness. The unit
is a member of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) of
North Florida, as is the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the
Seminole County Sheriff's Office.
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From the Office the Attorney Beneral
A Press Release
October 24, 2007
Time: 12:59
ATTORNEY GENERAL'S CYBERCRIME UNIT MAKES SECOND ARREST IN 24 HOURS
Volusia County Man Traveled To Meet Who He Thought Was A 13-Year Old Boy
For Sex
TALLAHASSEE, FL - A Volusia County man is in custody today after
Attorney General Bill McCollum's Child Predator CyberCrime Unit made its
second arrest in 24 hours. Mitchell R. Avery sexually solicited a person he
thought was a 13-year old boy and then traveled to meet the "boy" for sex,
not realizing he had been chatting online with a member of the Jacksonville
CyberCrime Unit. Avery will be charged with traveling to meet a minor to
commit an unlawful sex act, a new crime under the CyberCrimes Against
Children Act which took effect October 1.
"In less than 24 hours, two internet predators were arrested in
different parts of the state, each with the same dangerous intentions. This
is the very reason a statewide expansion of this unit is necessary," said
Attorney General McCollum. "CyberCrimes know no boundaries, no county or
state lines. We will continue to be as aggressive as possible taking these
predators offline and off the streets."
Avery approached the undercover CyberCrime investigator in an
internet chatroom, believing the investigator was a Jacksonville teenager.
Avery, 49, solicited the "boy" with graphic sexual details and arranged to
meet the child and return to the child's home to engage in sexual activity.
He was arrested at a Jacksonville fast food restaurant by authorities with
the CyberCrime Unit and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. The arrest
culminates a two-month investigation done in conjunction with the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and the
Volusia County Sheriff's Office. Avery does not have any prior criminal
history.
Investigators transported Avery to the Jacksonville Jail where is he
being held on charges of traveling to meet a minor to commit an unlawful
sex act and soliciting a minor. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in
prison. He will be prosecuted by attorneys with the CyberCrime Unit in
Jacksonville. Avery's arrest is the 51st made by Attorney General
McCollum's Child Predator CyberCrime Unit since October of 2005.
The Unit's mission is to protect children from computer-facilitated
sexual exploitation. The unit works cooperatively with law enforcement
agencies and prosecutors statewide to provide resources and expertise,
while preventing the spread of these crimes through education and community
awareness. The Jacksonville Bureau of the Child Predator CyberCrime Unit is
a member of the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force
and the FBI CyberTask Force, Jacksonville Region.
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Evelyn out.
