COLUMBIA COUNTY, Fla. — A man was arrested after he allegedly travelled from Ocala to Lake City with the intention of meeting with a 14-year-old for sex, says the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.
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According to the sheriff’s office, 25-year-old Horatio Levon Carrie had been communicating with a specially trained detective, acting in an undercover capacity, on social media for a week. Carrie sent pornographic images and began grooming the undercover investigator to live together when she turned 18.
A warrant was obtained for Carrie’s arrest after his intent to meet a minor and other crimes already committed.
On Wednesday, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office coordinated with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office to substantiate Carrie’s mode of travel and when he departed from their county. The car Carrie was traveling in arrived at the meetup location in Columbia County at 9:30 p.m. He was immediately taken into custody with the help of the CCSO Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Task Force, Criminal Investigations Division, and patrol. Carrie was booked into the Columbia County Detention Facility with a $400,000 bond.
The sheriff’s office reminds parents and guardians to help in keeping kids safe by checking their social media and other accounts to prevent similar situations.
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The following charges Carrie faces:
- Travel to meet after using a computer to lure
a child (FSS 847.0135.4a)
- Transmit obscene material to minor
(FSS 847.0133.1)
- Use 2-way communication device to
facilitate a felony (FSS 934.215)
- Transmit info harmful to minors
(FSS 847.0138.2)
- Use computer to seduce/lure child
(FSS 847.0135.3a)
- Violation of probation (FSS 948.06)
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