Fired White House Secret Service Officer Faces Sex Charges in Palm Beach

A Secret Service officer who was fired after investigators accused him of sexting with underage girls while on duty at the White House was moved to South Florida to face criminal charges.

Lee Robert Moore, 38, from Church Hill, Maryland, appeared in federal court Tuesday in West Palm Beach on federal child pornography charges for attempting to lure a Broward County girl into sexual activity.

Moore, a former uniformed Secret Service officer at the White House, surrendered to police in November after an online sex sting carried out by Delaware State Police, and has been locked up since.

The Delaware case was put on hold, however, after Moore was indicted by a Florida grand jury in June on the following more serious charges: production of child pornography, attempted receipt of child pornography, and using a computer to persuade, entice or coerce a minor to engage in sexual activity between January and May 2014.

Moore "sought to use mobile technology to sexually exploit multiple minor, teenage girls from one of the most secure places on the planet. He did so while in the presence of other highly trained law enforcement officers and just yards from the President of the United States, his family, and senior administration officials he was then protecting. ... The brazen and self-absorbed nature of his conduct is simply breathtaking," federal prosecutors wrote.

Moor was recently moved to Palm Beach County Jail to face these allegations first.

"The charges brought against Mr. Moore in the Southern District of Florida are much more serious than the charge pending against Mr. Moore in the District of Delaware. Mr. Moore would like to resolve his case in the Southern District of Florida prior to resolving the case pending against him in the District of Delaware," his lawyers wrote.

Investigators said Moore, who is married with children and lived in Maryland before his arrest, was communicating with at least two undercover officers and at least two minors, according to court records in the Delaware case. When he was questioned, investigators said Moore estimated he was talking to about 10 individuals he believed were underage girls, according to the Sun Sentinel.

Trial dates have not been scheduled, and Moore is expected to remain locked up while both federal cases are pending.