News Release - Attorney General's CyberCrime Unit Makes 50th Arrest, First Arrest for New Orlando Office

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Attorney General Bill McCollum News Release

October 24, 2007

en Español

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Media Contact: Sandi Copes
Phone: (850) 245-0150

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.

A copy of Phillps's mug shot is available here.