BY: 24/7 CRIME DESK | BocaNewsNow.com
BROWARD COUNTY, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2024 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — The Broward Sheriff’s Office late Friday afternoon announced the arrest of a local man who is accused of soliciting a child over the internet for a physical encounter. The Broward Sheriff’s Office, a national leader in predator arrests, did not need the assistance of private vigilante group like “561 Predator Catcher” which it calls a “problem” as these groups potentially taint the justice system with citizen-run stings that present serious prosecution problems.
Here is the official advisory provided to BocaNewsNow.com by BSO — a member of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force which prohibits agencies from engaging with what it calls “vigilante” groups:
[OFFICIAL ADVISORY] With a Mickey Mouse plush toy in his car and condoms in his pocket, a Broward County man arrived at a local apartment complex on Thursday morning for a sexual encounter with a child. Instead, Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives and deputies arrested him on several felony charges.
According to investigators, on Tuesday, July 23, Nicholas Penaloca was on an internet dating app and began chatting with an undercover agent from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which is a member of the South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The undercover detective was posing as a 13-year-old girl. When Penaloca learned he was chatting with a 13-year-old girl, he solicited her for sex, requested a sexual photo of her and sent her a sexual photo of an adult male.
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Penaloca made similar requests for sex with the 13-year-old girl on Wednesday, July 24, and Thursday, July 25. On the morning of July 25, Penaloca arrived at the apartment complex that was previously discussed for the purpose of having sex with a minor. At that time, members of BSO’s ICAC Task Force and V.I.P.E.R. (Violence Intervention Proactive Enforcement Response) took him into custody.
Penaloca was arrested on charges of solicitation of a minor to engage in sexual conduct, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, transmission of material harmful to minors and traveling to meet a minor. He was transported to BSO’s Main Jail for processing.
