VERO BEACH — A 25-year-old McAllen, Texas, construction worker was arrested last week after Indian River County sheriff’s detectives said he drove to Vero Beach to meet someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl for sex.
Carlos Reyes-Ayala was taken into custody without incident on Sept. 10, at about 9:22 p.m. when officers converged on his vehicle at the post office on 20th Street, according to the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office. He was booked early Friday, Sept. 11, into the Indian River County Jail.
A detective assigned to the sheriff’s Special Victims Unit and the South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force was taking part in a multi-agency undercover operation targeting people who use the internet to meet children for sexual activity, the report said. Investigators learned of Reyes-Ayala through a Florida Department of Law Enforcement cybercrimes investigator who had been communicating with him on the dating and social networking app Badoo.
The undercover investigator posed as a 14-year-old girl named Sara. Reyes-Ayala used the screen name Marcel and said he was 24, according to the account. After they exchanged phone numbers, a St. Lucie County sheriff’s detective posed as the girl during a phone call. They arranged to meet at the Vero Beach post office.
Reyes-Ayala later told investigators he had communicated in a sexual manner with the person he thought was 14, the report said. He denied he intended to have sex and said he was only going to take her to get food.
He faces felony charges of traveling to meet a child after using a computer to lure a child and unlawful use of a two-way communications device.
The court set the combined bond at $100,000. Jail records show he remained in custody Tuesday. A court date is scheduled for Oct. 14.