A South Florida man who identified himself as a firefighter in an Internet chat room was arrested after he allegedly tried to lure children, police said.
Brent Gill, 27, is accused of soliciting sex from a minor online.
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He was released from the Miami-Dade County Jail when he bailed out Thursday afternoon on a $45,000 bond.
Miami-Dade Police Department detectives with the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit said they caught Gill soliciting sex several times in an Internet chat room over the last two months. Police said he identified himself as a firefighter and lured whom he believed was a 15-year-old girl to a public meeting place in Miami-Dade County to engage in sex acts.
Detectives said Gill drove to the location from his Pembroke Pines home and was arrested by undercover detectives Wednesday evening.
"He looks clean-cut," said Robert Diaco, a neighbor. "He seems quiet because he never came over and talked. He was a firefighter, I believe. You would think (he would be) pretty respectable."
Neighbors said Gill worked as a firefighter in Palm Beach County.
Neighbor Ana Diaco said that as a firefighter, Gill was supposed to protect people and not hurt them. Diaco said she is relieved her children never had contact with the man.
"We don't ever let her outdoors without one of us out here," she said.
When detectives asked neighbor Shirley Cervero if Gill had ever interacted with children in the neighborhood, she said no.
Miami-Dade detectives said the sex crime investigation is ongoing and there could be more victims involved.
NBc 6's Sharon Lawson tried to speak with Gill Thursday evening, but there was no one home.
Gill faces eight counts of soliciting a child online for sex acts for the eight times he was allegedly found in that chat room. He also faces one count of attempted lewd and lascivious battery.
Police said they want more parents to monitor their children's Internet activity and report anything suspicious to police.
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