March 5, 2008
Media Contact: Sandi Copes
Phone: (850) 245-0150
Attorney General's Orlando CyberCrime Unit Arrests Sex Traveler
~ Orange County man thought he was meeting 14-year-old girl ~
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that an Orange County man was taken into custody after he traveled to meet someone he thought was a 14-year old girl for sex. Authorities with the Orlando Office of the Attorney General’s CyberCrime Unit arrested William Elias Martin, Jr. after Martin, 38, allegedly engaged in sexually explicit conversations with an undercover CyberCrime investigator, believing he was talking to an Orlando-area teen. Martin’s actions will be charged under the CyberCrimes Against Children Act of 2007, 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.
“Internet child predators are brazen in their efforts to victimize our children,” said Attorney General McCollum. “These continued threats to the safety of Florida’s children are the very reason our CyberCrime Unit needs an established presence throughout the state.”
Martin, of Orlando, was taken into custody by law enforcement officers with the CyberCrime Unit, the Orange County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Highway Patrol after he traveled to meet his intended victim. He began talking with the undercover detective approximately three weeks ago and began sexually soliciting the “teen” almost immediately.
Martin was booked into the Orange County Detention Center. He will be charged with traveling to meet a minor for unlawful sex acts and solicitation of a minor via computer. If convicted on all charges, he faces up to 20 years in prison. The case will be prosecuted by attorneys with the Attorney General’s CyberCrime Unit.
The Child Predator CyberCrime Unit's mission is to protect children from computer-facilitated sexual exploitation. The unit works 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 Central Florida, as is the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
A copy of Martin’s booking photograph may be obtained from the Orange County Detention Center after he has been processed.