The West Palm Beach Police Department played a role in the arrest of a Sarasota man who is accused of traveling to have sex with what he thought was an underage teenager.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office says it arrested a 42-year-old Fred Makowski after West Palm PD began an investigation in October 2018.
It said undercover detectives began communicating with Makowski through social media and that one of them posed as a 14-year-old who planned to travel to Siesta Key on a family vacation.
The sheriff's office said that over several months, Makowski communicated with the person he thought was a child, acknowledged her age, and sent explicit photos.
Monday morning, Makowski showed up at a hotel on Siesta Key to meet the teen he met online, officials said.
They took him into custody and said he later admitted sending explicit photos and going to the hotel to meet the young teen.
The sheriff's office charged Makowski with transmitting information harmful to minors, traveling to meet a child for sex, use of a computer to solicit a child for sex, and felony use of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony.
He's currently being held without bond.
The sheriff's office said Makowski has prior arrests which include grand theft, driving while license suspended, and violation of probation.
