Boynton Beach Man Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison For Attempting To Entice A Minor To Engage In Sexual Activity

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Dave Aronberg, State Attorney, Office of the State Attorney for Palm Beach County, Alysa D. Erichs, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), and Jeffrey S. Katz, Chief, Boynton Beach Police Department, announce that Herman N. Reed, Jr., 35, of Boynton Beach, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas to 10 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity. Upon release from prison, Reed will have to register as a sex offender.

Reed pled guilty to attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2422(b), on June 25, 2014. According to court documents, Reed spent months exchanging text messages of a sexual nature with a 16 year old customer he met at an AT&T retail store where he was employed. The minor became uncomfortable with Reed’s messages and reported the incident to the Boynton Beach Police Department. A Boynton Beach Detective assumed the minor’s identity and continued to communicate with Reed. Reed made plans to meet the minor to engage in sexual activity and was arrested when he arrived at the prearranged location. The investigation also revealed Reed’s cell phone contained an unrelated exchange of messages and images of child pornography with a 14 year old minor.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice and is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Mr. Ferrer and State Attorney Dave Aronberg commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI and the Boynton Beach Police Department. This case was adopted from state prosecution in cooperation with the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office and the South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandy Galler and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and Assistant State Attorney Gregory Schiller.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.