Wesley Chapel Man Convicted Of Traveling To Have Sex With Kids

WESLEY CHAPEL, FL – A Wesley Chapel man has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison and 30 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to traveling to the Dominican Republic to engage in illicit sex with minors.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations in Miami and the Dominican Republic.

According to court documents, Theodore Williams Symonds, 51, of Wesley Chapel, traveled frequently between the United States and the Dominican Republic including a trip on March 20, 2017.

Symonds was arrested March 23, 2017, by Dominican authorities for crimes related to the sexual abuse of children.

Homeland Security began investigating him shortly thereafter and uncovered proof of Symonds’ sexual abuse of children, both in person and using the Internet.

“This sentence should send a powerful message to child predators who believe that they can evade law enforcement by using international travel to engage in this type of reprehensible behavior,” said Mark Selby, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Miami. “Sexual exploitation of children is a despicable crime that will never be tolerated. HSI will continue to work closely with its law enforcement partners around the world so that sexual predators are always brought to justice.”

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners stand united against child exploitation and abuse,” said U.S. Attorney Benjamin Greenberg. “There is no immunity for these heinous crimes, whether committed at home or abroad. Any individual who victimizes the most vulnerable members of society, our children, can look to today’s sentencing to see there will be severe consequences within the U.S. federal criminal justice system.”

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 16,000 people for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors and sex trafficking of children.

In 2017, more than 2,700 child predators were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 900 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

Image via Shutterstock

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