The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
A Florida firefighter working with Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department was arrested on Tuesday for exchanging online messages of a sexual nature with a person that he believed was a 14-year-old girl. In actuality, the man had been speaking with an undercover detective impersonating the teenager for over three months.
In an attempt to better protect children from online sexual predators St. John’s County Sheriff’s Office launched “Operation Cruel Summer.” This project involves detectives posing as youth and visiting internet chat sites to engage in conversations with people seeking sexual relations with children.
The detective who purportedly spoke with 53-year-old David Eugene Labelle, the accused, had responded to an ad found online on July 27. Under the heading “Naughty Daughter,” the ad Labelle is accused of posting said, “Hi, how are you doing today? I would like to talk to you and let’s see what we can come up with. I have been looking for my naughty little girl. I am a 53 year old white married man.”