Deputy Indicted in Internet Sex Sting
A sheriff’s deputy was indicted Friday by a federal grand jury for allegedly using the Internet to solicit sex from a teenage girl, U.S. Atty. Alejandro N. Mayorkas said in a statement.
Steven Eugene Brown, a patrol deputy with the Palmdale station of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, allegedly sent sexually explicit messages over the Internet to an undercover FBI agent who was posing as a 13-year-old girl.
Brown, 41, was arrested Oct. 8 in West Los Angeles when he arrived for a meeting with the fictitious girl. He told federal agents that he had intended to have sex with the youngster, according to a federal complaint.
Brown was indicted on felony counts of using the Internet to induce sexual activity with a minor, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, and possession of child pornography, which carries a possible five-year term. After Brown’s arrest, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office, investigators found child pornography on the hard drive of his computer.
The deputy, a 14-year veteran who has been placed on paid leave by the Sheriff’s Department, is being held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center. Brown’s arraignment is scheduled for Monday.
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