A Miami-Dade sheriff’s deputy was arrested outside a Delray Beach movie theater after being caught attempting to meet a 15-year-old girl in a sting by a private predator-catching group.
Christopher Jorge Diaz, 50, had made contact on two dating sites with a member of the group who told him she was 15, according to an arrest report by the Delray Beach Police Department. After engaging in sexually charged interactions online, they agreed to meet Friday evening at the IPIC Theater in Delray Beach.
When they met, Diaz said, “I want to kiss you,” the report stated, ignoring her when she said she was nervous and trying to keep her distance. She told Delray Police officers that Diaz “was touching her all over her upper chest, to include her breasts.”
The woman who participated in the sting was actually 24, according to the police report.
As they walked out of the theater, Diaz was confronted by the group 561 Predator Catcher, which had set up the sting.
Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz, who said she was “outraged” at the deputy’s conduct, announced that Diaz had been relieved of duty without pay and that she directed that “termination proceedings begin immediately.”
Diaz was charged with simple battery and pleaded not guilty.