Over the weekend, Boynton Beach Police apprehended Phillip J. Smith, a 49-year-old Orlando man, under allegations of attempting to engage in an illicit meeting with a minor. Smith was arrested last Saturday after he traveled from Orlando to Boynton Beach, expecting to encounter a 14-year-old boy he had communicated with online. NBC Miami reports that Smith made initial contact with the purported teenager through the app Grindr last Tuesday, but was actually conversing with undercover officers.
After moving their dialogue to texting and phone calls, Smith started to explain in explicit detail what he wanted to do when he met the boy, as stated by WPBF. This situation unfolds with the backdrop of Smith's disturbing past, as detectives during the investigation uncovered that he is a registered sexual predator, having been convicted for raping a 7-year-old and multiple rapes of a 5-year-old, in addition to multiple grand theft charges.
The Boynton Beach Police Department's Facebook page disclosed that Smith booked a hotel room near the residence he believed to be that of the child and arrived in Boynton Beach to meet the minor for sex. Police had apprehended Smith upon arrival around 4 p.m., where he subsequently provided a full confession.
Phillip J. Smith now faces charges including traveling to meet a minor, transmission of material harmful to minors, unlawful use of a two-way communications device, and solicitation of a minor to engage in sexual conduct. Currently, he is detained at the Palm Beach County Jail.
