Devin Kenneth Moon of 724 1/2 W. Central Ave. in Winter Haven was arrested and charged with attempting to travel to meet a minor, lewd and lascivious conduct, two counts of possession of child pornography, interference with parental custody, use of a computer service to seduce, solicit or entice, distributing obscene material to a minor, and use of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony.
The investigation started on Aug. 21 after Polk County Sheriff’s Office Computer Crimes detectives got information from the Wisconsin Department of Justice, that a Winter Haven man who had been communicating electronically with a 13-year-old girl who lives in a community north of Milwaukee.
The investigation revealed that Moon had met the girl through an online gaming site known as Kabam.com, starting last June.
“He initially told the young girl he was 16,” noted Carrie Eleazer, public information officer for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, in her report on the arrest. “The young girl’s father discovered the online relationship in August and contacted local authorities.”
Polk detectives discovered that Moon had made a crucial mistake, leaving behind plenty of electronic evidence of his postings with the girl.
Kabam.com has online games like “Clash of the Dragons” and “Kingdom of Camelot” that can be played by two people in different places. Moon first contacted the girl through one of the host site’s games, and eventually they would exchange phone numbers, detectives said.
“Moon gained the young girl’s home address and asked her about the school she attended,” Eleazer noted. “The conversations became sexual in nature and Moon sent the young girl images of his genitalia and encouraged her to send nude images to him. The girl agreed and sent images to Moon.”
Despite the distance between the two, the sexual nature of their activities escalated, Eleazer said.
“After receiving the photos, Moon asked the girl to masturbate while he spoke with her on the phone,” Eleazer noted. “He provided the young girl specific instructions on how to perform this behavior.”
Detectives would come to learn that Moon was planning to make a trip to Wisconsin next month to see the girl, then bring her back to Florida with him. His plan, detectives say, involved concealing her identity with camouflage clothing and a wig.
Before that happened, though, detectives went to Moon’s Winter Haven home on Friday, Sept. 21 around 9 a.m. While there, “Detectives located a wig and a petit size woman’s shirt,” Eleazer said.
While talking with the Polk detectives, “Moon admitted to detectives he initiated contact with the young girl and knew she was 13 years old,” Eleazer noted. “Moon stated he solicited graphic pictures and he ‘taught’ the young girl about sex, and he did so for his own self-gratification. Moon told detectives he planned to travel to Wisconsin.”
He also admitted to searching online satellite maps of the young girl’s school and giving the girl directions to meet him behind her school near some dumpsters.
“Moon told detectives he was going to bring the victim back to Florida, where they would ‘start a new life together,’ ” and he “referred to this activity as ‘the plan,’ ” Eleazer said.
This plan was supposed to have commenced on Oct. 5.
Accoridng to the detectives, Moon also told them he was going to change his name to “Raven Moon,” and the young girl’s name to “Infinity Moon.” He would make the claim locally that she was 23 years old, detectives said.
Moon also admitted that he knew what he was doing was wrong and in violation of the law, detectives said, and he also admitted that he would masturbate while viewing the graphic images of the young girl.
“This is another example of how those who prey on children work to deceive and coerce their victims,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. “This young child was being groomed for potential violent acts using online games, text messages and emails.”
Moon was booked into the Polk County Jail. His bond was set at $85,000.
It was another encounter with a teenage girl that first brought Moon to Florida, detectives said. Moon had moved from Oregon to Winter Haven in 2010, detectives noted, after meeting a 17-year-old girl online.
“Moon told detectives he went to the 17-year-olds residence and was met by the girl’s grandmother, who told him to leave,” Eleazer said. “He told detectives he has had no contact with the 17-year-old since.”
Judd said this case shows that law enforcement agencies in two states can work together long-distance to prevent the sexual exploitation of minors.
“I commend all of the agencies involved for their assistance in this investigation and for helping to put this suspect behind bars — where he belongs,” the sheriff said.
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