A 50-year-old Kissimmee man who is a registered sex offender was arrested this week after authorities said he used social media to solicit a 13-year-old male child in Colorado.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday that Daniel Brent Hartley, 50, was taken into custody at his home in the Reserve at Doral Woods community.
The case began when the Broomfield Police Department in Colorado interviewed a child who reported being contacted on Snapchat by a man identified as “Dan.” Investigators said the suspect engaged in explicit conversations with the child, solicited nude photographs and sent nude images of himself.
The Sheriff’s Internet Crimes Against Children unit launched an investigation and identified the suspect as Hartley, who is currently on state probation for a 2012 conviction in Palm Beach County involving unlawful sexual activity with a minor.
Detectives executed a search warrant at Hartley’s residence and seized multiple electronic devices for forensic review. They also discovered an unreported internet identifier, which authorities said is a violation of Florida’s sexual offender registry requirements.
Hartley is charged with possession of photo/video of sexual performance by a child; two counts of transmission of harmful material to a minor; solicitation of a minor; unlawful use of two-way communication device, failure of a sexual offender to report internet identifier; and violation of probation. He was booked into the Osceola County Jail with no bond.
Investigators urge anyone with information related to this case or similar incidents to call the Sheriff’s Office at 407-348-2222.
