A Jensen Beach man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of trying to entice a teenage girl for sex online.But authorities said that girl was actually a persona created by a 16-year-old boy on the hunt for child predators in the area. Never miss anything: Sign up for personalized newsletters and alerts from WPBF 25 NewsThirty-eight-year-old Zachary Spiegel was sentenced at the Alto Lee Adams U.S. Courthouse following his conviction for attempted online enticement of a minor.Authorities said back in January, Spiegel started talking to who he believed was a 14-year-old girl named ‘Shayla’ online. But in reality, Shayla was a fictional persona created by a 16-year-old boy who was trying to find child predators in the area.“Here you have a 16-year-old boy wanting to take the matter into his own hands and find these child predators in his area, and he found one,” Callahan Walsh, a child advocate with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said.Court documents show Spiegel’s messages with Shayla, trying to persuade her to meet him for sex in his car, as well as graphic text descriptions of sexual acts he wanted to do to her and inappropriate photos.Around the country: National coverage from WPBF 25 NewsAuthorities said the two never met up due to Spiegel being pulled over by police during a traffic stop that day, but the boy went to police who then took over as Shayla. Then on Jan. 20, authorities arrested Spiegel at his Jensen Beach home after finding him in possession of the cellphone he had used to communicate with Shayla.Walsh said the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 29 million reports of suspected child exploitation in 2021, including instances of online enticement like this case.That’s a 35% increase from the year before.His top tips for parents are to try to understand the latest technology and social media apps, set ground rules especially if there’s been bad behavior in the past, and to just talk to one another.“Have ongoing conversations with your children about safety. The conversations you have with your youngest child, when they’re first getting online are vastly different conversations than you’re having with your older teens about being safe. So look for those teachable moments. Make sure these are part of your everyday conversation,” Walsh said.While Walsh said he takes his hat off to that 16-year-old boy for wanting to catch Spiegel, he cautions other people from doing the same thing because the predators they encounter could be dangerous.He encourages people to report exploitation if they see it happening, but to leave the hunting and investigating up to law enforcement.Stay informed: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News
A Jensen Beach man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of trying to entice a teenage girl for sex online.
But authorities said that girl was actually a persona created by a 16-year-old boy on the hunt for child predators in the area.
Never miss anything: Sign up for personalized newsletters and alerts from WPBF 25 News
Thirty-eight-year-old Zachary Spiegel was sentenced at the Alto Lee Adams U.S. Courthouse following his conviction for attempted online enticement of a minor.
Authorities said back in January, Spiegel started talking to who he believed was a 14-year-old girl named ‘Shayla’ online. But in reality, Shayla was a fictional persona created by a 16-year-old boy who was trying to find child predators in the area.
“Here you have a 16-year-old boy wanting to take the matter into his own hands and find these child predators in his area, and he found one,” Callahan Walsh, a child advocate with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said.
Court documents show Spiegel’s messages with Shayla, trying to persuade her to meet him for sex in his car, as well as graphic text descriptions of sexual acts he wanted to do to her and inappropriate photos.
Around the country: National coverage from WPBF 25 News
Authorities said the two never met up due to Spiegel being pulled over by police during a traffic stop that day, but the boy went to police who then took over as Shayla. Then on Jan. 20, authorities arrested Spiegel at his Jensen Beach home after finding him in possession of the cellphone he had used to communicate with Shayla.
Walsh said the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 29 million reports of suspected child exploitation in 2021, including instances of online enticement like this case.
That’s a 35% increase from the year before.
His top tips for parents are to try to understand the latest technology and social media apps, set ground rules especially if there’s been bad behavior in the past, and to just talk to one another.
“Have ongoing conversations with your children about safety. The conversations you have with your youngest child, when they’re first getting online are vastly different conversations than you’re having with your older teens about being safe. So look for those teachable moments. Make sure these are part of your everyday conversation,” Walsh said.
While Walsh said he takes his hat off to that 16-year-old boy for wanting to catch Spiegel, he cautions other people from doing the same thing because the predators they encounter could be dangerous.
He encourages people to report exploitation if they see it happening, but to leave the hunting and investigating up to law enforcement.
Stay informed: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News
