POLK SHERIFF'S DEPUTY MAKES CASE AGAINST DEPUTY HOMELAND SECURITY PRESS SECRETARY

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd late Tuesday evening announced the arrest of a deputy press secretary with the federal Department of Homeland Security on 23 local counts of using his computer to seduce a child and transmitting harmful materials to a minor, thanks to the work of an undercover deputy posing as a 14 year old girl.

According to the story in today's Lakeland Ledger, the case had been building since mid-March when 55-year-old Brian J. Doyle of Montgomery County, Maryland first contacted the "teenager", whose profile had been posted on an AOL Web site.

Initially, detectives thought Doyle was posing as someone working for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. But they soon learned otherwise when he sent a picture to the girl over the Internet wearing an official "DHS tag", Judd said.

The PCSO press release details regarding the investigation, which also included the 10th Judicial Circuit State Attorney's Office and the office of the DHS Inspector General.

Doyle was actually online communicating with the undercover deputy posing as the teen when Montgomery County Police officers and U.S. Secret Service agents knocked on his door to make the arrest. He acknowledged soliciting the teenager during an interview with Maryland detectives. Officers reportedly knew that Doyle would be home last evening, as the undercover detective posing as the girl promised she would send nude photographs of herself via a Web cam.

He is often quoted in national news stories concerning the mammoth public agency, which includes the Drug Enforcement Agency, U.S. Customs, FEMA and numerous other departments. It was created in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. USA Today reports that Doyle, the fourth highest ranking member of the DHS Press Office, is expected to be placed on administrative leave later today.

Doyle is divorced with children, Judd said