Original Article Suspect's Homeland Security tie shocks deputies in predator case Nick Timiraos Los Angeles Times Apr. 6, 2006 12:00 AM WASHINGTON - Sheriff's detectives in Polk County, Fla., never know what they're going to find when they fish for sexual predators by creating bogus profiles on adult Internet sites. But they were stunned last month when they ran across a man representing himself as an official of the Department of Homeland Security, complete with lapel pin and a government telephone number, and looking to connect with a 14-year-old girl. On Wednesday, prosecutors prepared to extradite Brian J. Doyle, a senior public information officer in Homeland Security in Washington who faces 23 felony counts of using a computer to seduce a child and transmitting harmful materials to a minor. The Sheriff's Office, which serves an area in central Florida east of Tampa, alleges that Doyle, who turns 56 Friday, used the Internet to start conversations with what he thought was a 14-year-old girl about sexual activities he said the two would engage in. Deputies said Doyle also sent pornographic movies and non-sexual photos, including one of himself wearing a Homeland Security lapel pin and a lanyard that says "TSA." Doyle previously worked for the Transportation Security Administration, which is part of Homeland Security. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Doyle bragged to the "girl" that he worked for Homeland Security and in later conversations provided his office phone number and the number of his government-issued cellphone. The arrest led to calls on Capitol Hill on Wednesday for tighter employee screening at the department. "What if the person on the other end had been a member of al-Qaida or a similar terrorist organization and used this information to blackmail Mr. Doyle?" House Homeland Security Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., said in a statement Wednesday. He promised to investigate Homeland Security hiring policies next month. Colleagues expressed shock over the news of Doyle's arrest and described him as a friendly co-worker who loved telling stories and spouting sports scores. "There's not a person I know who doesn't like him," said Dennis Murphy, who supervised Doyle for two years before leaving Homeland Security. The arrest is the second of a department official recently. Frank Figueroa, 49, who oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Florida, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he exposed himself to a girl at a mall last year in Tampa. Although most investigations of online predators take months, Judd said that his office made the arrest just weeks after the first conversation on March 12 because "of his high-profile position and us not knowing how much information he had access to or who he could share that with." He also said that Doyle would sometimes call the girl a different name, "which leads us to believe he may have had other chats with other girls." Running sting operations against Internet users interested in child pornography has become a regular part of operations, a Polk County sheriff's official said. The county has a zero-tolerance policy on all adult-oriented businesses, including strip clubs and adult bookstores. Agents in the U.S. Secret Service, which is part of Homeland Security, and the department's Inspector General's Office served a search warrant with the Montgomery County police and the Polk County Sheriff's Office. "We take these allegations very seriously," said Homeland Security press secretary Russ Knocke, Doyle's supervisor. Each felony carries a maximum five-year prison sentence. Doyle left a career at Time magazine to join the newly created federal agency as a civilian employee in 2002.