WASHINGTON — (CNN) A Secret Service officer assigned to the White House was arrested after he was caught in a sting sending naked pictures of himself to someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl from Delaware, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday.
Lee Robert Moore turned himself in to the Maryland State Police Barracks on Monday, the same day the complaint was filed against him in the U.S. District Court for Delaware.
The complaint details a series of online chats between Moore, 37, and a Delaware State Police detective posing as a 14-year-old girl from Delaware. Moore is alleged to have sent naked photos of himself to the undercover officer and requested to meet in person to have sex.
When he turned himself in, Moore waived his Miranda rights, according to the complaint, and agreed to an interview with law enforcement. In the interview, he said that he sent some messages while on the job at the White House and admitted to sending messages to what he believed was an underaged girl and other underage girls on a mobile messaging service.
Moore was charged with the attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years. It was not immediately clear if Moore had an attorney.
A Secret Service spokeswoman said the incident was first reported to the agency last Friday and the agency took action.
“The Secret Service takes allegations of potential criminal activity extremely seriously,” the spokeswoman said in a statement Thursday afternoon.
“This incident was reported to our Office of Professional Responsibility on Friday, November 6th. On that same date, the employee’s security clearance was suspended and the employee was placed on administrative leave. All Secret Service issued equipment was retrieved and the employee’s access to all Secret Service facilities was terminated,” the spokeswoman said.
The complaint comes after a series of high-profile controversies for the Secret Service, which included the leak of a top Republican’s application for work there and a knife-wielding intruder’s stunning entry into the White House last year after he scaled the White House fence.
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