[PHOTO CREDIT: Lake County Sheriff’s Office]
[Original Publish Date: 11/15/19]
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TAVARES, Florida – A registered sex offender is back in the Lake County Jail just five years into his 15-year sex offender probation sentence.
Bobby Alan Moffitt, 29, of Sorrento was arrested Wednesday at the Florida Department of Corrections Tavares Circuit Office, 28402 CR 561, Tavares and charged with lewd and lascivious exposure and transferring harmful material to a minor through an electronic device.
According to the arrest affidavit, on Nov. 5 a task force agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s (FDLE) Cyber Crime Task Force made contact with Moffitt at his home, 32444, Okaloosa Trail, Sorrento and questioned him about a tip received on the CyberTipline. The tipster advised Moffitt set up a Snapchat account, identifying himself as a 16-year-old male and uploaded a video of a male masturbating.
Moffitt admitted to the agent he recorded the video of himself and told the agent he knew it was a violation of his sex offender probation. The agent contacted Moffitt’s probation officer, who told him she wanted to speak with him about the incident, according to the affidavit. He provided the phone he used to video himself to the FDLE agent.
On Wednesday, the agent turned the phone over to Moffitt’s probation officer just before both the agent and the probation officer met with Moffitt. He admitted to both of them he recorded the masturbation video and told them he did it, “for cam girl models that were paid to get naked on cam,” the affidavit states. He later admitted to communicating with 10 to 20 females less than 18 years of age.
During the interview, the FDLE agent was able to open Moffitt’s phone and immediately saw a message from a female with child-like facial features and braces, who appeared to be less than 16 years old. The messages were sexual in nature and indicated Moffitt sent the young girl the masturbation video. He asked for a photo of her reaction after viewing the video, according to the affidavit. Moffitt was arrested for the current charges and also five charges of violation of probation.
The probation stems from a 2013 case in which Moffitt was charged with travelling to meet a minor for unlawful sexual activity, lewd or lascivious battery and transmission of harmful material to a minor. In that case, Moffitt, who was 23 at the time, was accused of making a profile on an unidentified social networking site claiming to be 17 years old. He used that profile to meet a child, age unknown. Moffitt told a deputy in 2013, he then snuck in the child’s bedroom window and engaged in sexual activity. He also told the deputy he sent the child a photograph of his penis.
Moffitt was represented by Orlando Attorney Mark O’Mara, who gained fame during his representation of George Zimmerman in 2013. Zimmerman was acquitted of killing teenager Trayvon Martin in Seminole County. In that case, Moffitt pleaded no contest to each count and was given a downward departure sentence. A downward departure is a sentence that departs from the minimum sentence mandated by the Criminal Punishment Code. Moffitt was given just 15 years sex offender probation and the special condition of no victim contact.
Moffitt’s earliest Lake County sex-related case stems from an Oct. 2012 incident, resulting eventually in a charge of exposure of sexual organs. Police records reveal Moffitt was accused of following a woman who was walking her dog on the Okaloosa Trail in Sorrento, and after attracting her attention, asking her to watch him masturbate. Moffitt was placed on probation, which he failed to successfully complete.
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Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. In addition, she has made more than two dozen appearances on live national television, including Nancy Grace and the Greta Van Susteren show, along with her appearance on Evil Twins. Contact her with breaking news, tips, and feedback by sending an e-mail to 352Tips@gmail.com. You can also contact us on our Facebook page — and make sure you “Like” and “Follow us” there. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bonnie Whicher]
