A 65-year-old Lake Worth man who works for the Palm Beach County School District is facing charges after police say he kept pursuing sexually explicit conversation with someone he believed was a 14-year-old boy, even after being told the boy's age twice. Donald Rush was arrested following an undercover sting by Boynton Beach police, and investigators say they believe there could be additional victims.
According to CBS12, Rush was arrested after an undercover investigation by the Boynton Beach Police Department's Human Exploitation Task Force. Detectives posed as a 14-year-old boy advertising lawn-mowing services on Craigslist's community messaging board, and police say Rush contacted the fake account under the screen name “Palm Guy,” as first reported by WPTV.
Investigators said Rush began asking the supposed teenager his age, whether adult men had approached him about sexual activity, and whether he had told his parents about those encounters. The conversation later moved to text messages, where detectives again made it clear the boy was just 14 years old — and police allege Rush continued anyway, asking sexually explicit questions and making statements about his own sexual activity.
Detectives Say Rush Confessed During Interview
With assistance from the Palm Beach County School Board Police Department, detectives located and interviewed Rush, who police said confessed to his involvement. During the investigation, Rush also claimed to be a youth pastor, according to police, though investigators have not identified any church or organization affiliated with him. Police have also not specified his role within the school district or whether he worked directly with students.
Rush now faces charges of solicitation of a minor to engage in sexual conduct and unlawful use of a two-way communications device, the station's report notes. He is being held at the Palm Beach County Jail without bond. Investigators believe there may be additional victims.
Task Force Has Worked Dozens of Similar Cases
Boynton Beach Detective Brent Joseph has said that most human-trafficking and child-exploitation cases now begin online, a trend he described while discussing the department's broader push against predators, as reported by WPBF. “The majority of the human trafficking cases now, and child exploitation cases, begin online,” Joseph said. Since its inception, the task force has worked on 26 cases, per the same outlet.
Other recent Boynton Beach undercover operations illustrate how often these cases surface, though nothing in the record ties them to Rush's arrest. In July, police arrested 51-year-old Maximiliano Buitrago of Boca Raton on charges including solicitation to commit human trafficking after he allegedly asked a 14-year-old for videos, according to WFLX. Earlier in the year, WPBF reported that three separate men — 62-year-old David Scott Robertson, 40-year-old Errol Washington Hall, and 50-year-old Geoffrey Gordon — were each arrested between late January and mid-March after traveling to meet someone they believed was a teenage boy. A Deerfield Beach man, Paul Dominguez, was also arrested after allegedly arranging to meet what he believed was a 14-year-old boy for sex, per CBS12.
What Florida Law Says About Online Solicitation
Under Florida Statutes section 847.0135(3), knowingly using an online service or a covered device to solicit a child — or someone believed to be a child — for unlawful sexual conduct is a third-degree felony, according to the Florida Legislature. The statute also provides that misrepresenting one's age while committing that offense elevates the charge to a second-degree felony. It further allows prosecutors to charge each separate use of a computer, online service, or similar device involved in the offense as its own count.
Anyone with information about possible victimization or similar incidents is asked to contact Boynton Beach Police Detective Joseph at 561-742-6158.
