WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — 20 years in prison is the sentence for a former Secret Service agent who engaged in explicit online conversations with underage girls, even exchanged nude photos– often while on duty at the White House.
38-year-old Lee Robert Moore potentially faced life in prison as he appeared before a federal judge in West Palm Beach on Thursday.
The case was filed in South Florida, because one of Moore’s underage victims is from Broward County.
A Marine Corps veteran, Moore worked for the Secret Service for more than 12 years. Moore’s attorney said his client earned assignments at the White House, during both Bush and Obama administrations.
But prosecutors say at least some of Moore’s time on duty at the White House, was spent online engaging in sexual chats with underage teen girls.
Court documents show undercover Delaware State Police detectives, posing as a teen girl, first made contact with Moore.
Investigators eventually learned Moore had made contact with at least three actual teenagers, including the one in Broward.
The court records show Moore got each girl to send him nude photos of themselves.
Sentencing guidelines called for life in prison for Moore. And, Assistant U.S. Attorney Austin Berry urged just such a punishment, or at the least 30 years.
Berry said Moore preyed upon children from broken homes with broken lives.
But with his out-of-state family present, including his two small children, Moore tearfully begged for leniency.
In the end, U.S. District Judge Daniel Hurley settled on 20 years.
“In this kind of case, nobody wins,” said Moore’s attorney, Bruce Lehr.
“He gave a sentence that was long enough to send a message, and short enough not to ruin this guy’s life,” Lehr said.
Court documents show Moore discussed meeting up with the girls, but there was no evidence that happened.
