A 65-year-old employee of the Palm Beach County School District has been arrested on felony charges after sending sexually explicit messages to an undercover detective posing as a 14-year-old boy, authorities announced Monday.
The suspect, identified in agency records as D. R. of Lake Worth, was arrested in an operation led by the Boynton Beach Police Department’s Human Exploitation Task Force. The Palm Beach County School Board Police Department provided operational support.
According to investigators, detectives posed as a teen offering lawn-mowing services on Craigslist. An online user using the handle “Palm Guy” responded, and police later identified that user as D. R. Investigators said he asked about the supposed boy’s age and whether older men had approached him for sex. The conversation then moved to text messages, where detectives repeatedly stated the boy was 14. Police said D. R. kept sending explicit messages anyway and described his own sexual conduct.
Officers later interviewed D. R., who confessed to his role in the messages, according to investigators. He also told officers he was a youth pastor, police said.
He was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on charges of solicitation of a minor to engage in sexual conduct and unlawful use of a two-way communications device.
Task force investigators believe more minors may have been targeted. Anyone with information about inappropriate contact with D. R. is asked to call Detective Joseph at 561-742-6158.
