Secret Service officer arrested in child sex sting

Jessica Masulli Reyes and Brittany Horn | The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal

WILMINGTON, Del. — A Secret Service officer assigned to the White House is facing state and federal charges after he was caught sending a picture of his genitals to what he thought was a 14-year-old girl in Delaware, according to court documents.

Lee Robert Moore, 37, of Church Hill, Md., was chatting on a cellphone social media app with an undercover Delaware State Police detective when he sent the naked photo and requested to meet, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Delaware.

Several conversations occurred while he was at work in the uniformed division of the Secret Service, the complaint said.

Moore was charged in federal court with attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor. He was also charged in state court with two counts of solicitation of a minor for sex and one count of obscenity material provided to a minor. He is being held in the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna.

Officials in Delaware would not comment on the charges and instead referred to the criminal complaints.

The complaints obtained by The News Journal show that the investigation began in August when a Delaware State Police detective with the state's child predator task force was using a profile on the Meet24 app under a profile for a 14-year-old girl from Hazlett, Del.

A user, named "Rob," contacted the girl and began chatting with her about what clothes she liked to wear to bed, the complaint said. The detective asked Moore to chat on another app, called Kik, and the two exchanged usernames.

The Delaware Department of Justice then issued subpoenas to Kik for the IP address related to Moore's profile, the complaint said. The IP address was linked to Moore and his wife in Maryland.

In the following days, Moore said he wanted to meet with the girl and requested that she wear a skirt when they do so, the complaint said.

The two continued to chat, turning the conversation to sex, and exchanged photos, according to the complaint.

After Moore became suspicious, a female detective stepped in to chat with him and continued exchanging photos and videos. Some of the chats occurred, he said, while he was in his work break room or in a box office checking identifications for entrance into a building, the complaint said.

On Oct. 6, he sent a photo of his genitals and attempted to convince the teen to send pictures of herself in panties, the complaint said.

Moore was informed on Nov. 6 by the Secret Service that he was being placed on administrative leave. He was instructed to report to the Maryland State Police barracks in Centerville on Nov. 9.

The day before he turned himself in, Moore sent a message on Kik to the girl saying, "I don't think we should talk anymore. I can't explain, but I have too much going on, and I need to pull away from talking to people online altogether. This will be my last message. I'm sorry, but I won't be on kick or meet 24 again," according to the complaint.

He then reported to the Maryland State Police barracks where he was arrested.

During an interview at the barracks, he admitted to talking to what he believed was a 14-year-old girl and to communicating with several other users who he believed were teen girls, the complaint said.

"In particular, Moore stated that he had a sexual interest in 14-year-old females and had engaged such individuals in online chats about sexual matters," the complaint said.

A spokesman for the Secret Service issued a statement Thursday saying it takes allegations of potential criminal activity extremely seriously.

"This incident was reported to our Office of Professional Responsibility on Friday, Nov. 6. On that same date the employee’s security clearance was suspended and the employee was placed on administrative leave," the statement said.

The charges against the White House officer come after a long list of blunders by the Secret Service over the past few years, including agents partying during down time in foreign countries.