Safety Harbor Man Accused Of Soliciting Sex With Minor

SAFETY HARBOR, FL — The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office arrested a Safety Harbor man accused of trying to seduce a minor in Richmond, Virginia, through social media.

According to detectives, their investigation began after receiving a tip from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children that 62-year-old Derrick Middleton of 3113 State Road 580 in Safety Harbor was attempting to solicit sexual activities with a minor.

Detectives say Middleton was using a social media application to solicit sexual intercourse with the youngster, but was unknowingly chatting with an undercover detective from the Richmond Police Department in Virginia.

Richmond Police provided Pinellas County sheriff's detectives with copies of the conversations between Middleton and the "minor." Detectives used the evidence to obtain an arrest warrant from the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Florida.

Middleton was arrested on Thursday. In an interview with detectives, he admitted to the allegations.

He was charged with one count of unlawful use of a two-way communication device, one count of seduction of a child using the Internet and one count of prohibited uses of computer services.

Anyone with information regarding this case should contact the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office at 727-582-6200 or by email at cpersaudjr@pcsonet.com.