WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. Secret Service officer assigned to the White House was arrested this week after he sent naked pictures of himself to someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl, according to a criminal complaint.
Lee Robert Moore, 37, of Church Hill, Maryland, turned himself in to Maryland State Police on Monday and faces charges including solicitation of a minor, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware.
The complaint details a series of pornographic online chats starting in late August between Moore and a Delaware State Police detective posing as a 14-year-old girl.
Moore sent naked photos of himself to the undercover officer and asked to meet in person to have sex, according to the complaint.
In an interview with police, Moore admitted to communicating with the person while he was working at the White House, the complaint said.
The Secret Service, the agency that protects the president, has placed Moore on administrative leave, according to the complaint. The Secret Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It was not clear from the complaint whether Moore has retained an attorney.
Moore’s arrest is the latest blow to the Secret Service after a series of scandals and security lapses.
In March, two senior agents, after a night of drinking, drove into a White House barricade inches away from a suspicious package that was being investigated as a possible bomb.
Last year, agents failed to stop a knife-carrying man from jumping a fence and running into the White House in one of the worst security breaches since President Barack Obama took office in 2009.
(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Chris Reese)
The White House is pictured shortly after sunrise in Washington, August 1, 2007. REUTERS/Jason Reed
