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Loxahatchee man sent 11-year-old girl nude photo, PBSO says

Posted at 8:43 AM, Aug 03, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-03 08:50:38-04

LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. -- A Loxahatchee man is under arrest after deputies say he sent sexually explicit text messages and a naked photo of himself to an 11-year-old girl.

A Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office (PBSO) detective, who is a part of a national task force known as the South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children, received a sworn statement from the girl claiming that 22-year-old Cristian Murcia Araujo sent her inappropriate text messages and a photo.

The girl told the PBSO detective that Araujo told her she was pretty, asked if she had a boyfriend and requested a full body picture.

The girl says she responded negatively, telling Araujo, "No, don't you know I am 11 years old and you have a girlfriend."

The girl told the detective that Araujo then sent her a photo of his genitals and a fully clothed image of himself.

According to PBSO, a controlled phone call was conducted between the girl's mother and Araujo.

During the phone call, PBSO says Araujo made the following statements: "I know what I did was wrong" and "she asked me for the picture." When the mother asked why he would send a picture of his genitals to an 11-year-old, even if she asked for the photo, Araujo replied, "Because I'm an idiot."

When the detective reviewed the contents of Araujo's cell phone, she observed a very sexually explicit text message conversation between him and the girl.

The detective says Araujo admitted to having a sexually explicit conversation with an 11-year-old girl and sending her pornographic images of himself.

Cristian Murcia Araujo is charged with 1 count of solicitation of a child, 1 count of misused of a 2-way communication device, and 1 count of transmission of material harmful to a minor.  He was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail.