A Secret Service officer who faces charges for trying to solicit a teen girl for sex is currently being held in federal custody.
The Associated Press reported:
Lee Robert Moore, 37, of Church Hill, Maryland, waived his right to a preliminary hearing without appearing in court Friday in Delaware on state charges of sexual solicitation of a child under 18 and providing obscene material to a person under 18. He is charged separately in federal court with attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor. ... Court records show that Moore was released from state custody Tuesday after posting $105,000 secured bail, but he remains in custody on the federal charge.
Moore turned himself in to Maryland police Monday after he was caught by Delaware State Police in an undercover online sex investigation. Moore used a social media application called "Meet24" to correspond with who he believed were teenage girls.
"May seem like a small thing in the grand scheme, but I would take immense pleasure in pulling those shorts off your hips and down your cute little legs," Moore wrote in one of the messages to a Delaware State Police officer he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, according to CNN. He also sent the officer a lewd picture.
According to the criminal complaint, Moore repeatedly took part in the online chats while on the job at the White House.
"The Secret Service takes allegations of potential criminal activity extremely seriously," the government agency stated Thursday.
The situation was reported to the Secret Service’s Office of Professional Responsibility on Nov. 6 and Moore’s security clearance was suspended the same day.
After surrendering to police, Moore admitted to sending the explicit photo and communicating with other individuals using the social media application who he believed to be minor girls.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Friday that the allegations were "disgusting" and that the Obama administration is taking the matter "quite seriously."
The U.S. Secret Service has been the subject of a number of controversies over the past few years, including a prostitution scandal, two security breaches, and a drunk driving incident.
According to a representative for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware, Moore’s detention hearing will take place next week in federal court.