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September 11, 2014West Palm Beach, FL, United StatesChild Exploitation

Convicted sex offender sentenced for sexually enticing a minor

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Palm Beach County man was sentenced Thursday to 235 months in prison for attempting to entice a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity. The sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Boynton Beach Police Department and the Office of the State Attorney in Palm Beach County.

Paul David Culbreth, 52, of Loxahatchee, pleaded guilty to enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity May 15. According to court records, Culbreth sent numerous sexually explicit messages via a Web-based social media application to an undercover officer who posed as a 15-year-old boy. Culbreth then attempted to meet the minor to engage in illegal sexual activity on New Year's Eve. HSI special agents arrested Culbreth after he drove to a location to pick up the 15-year-old boy. Culbreth who is a registered sex offender in Palm Beach County was found with lubricant and condoms in his vehicle. Culbreth also received a life term of supervised release and will have to continue to register as a sex offender for enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity.

This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2012, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2013, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.

 

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