Norton Says Criminal Complaint Against Uniformed Secret Service Officer for Soliciting a Minor for Sex Needs a New Focus

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), a senior member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, today issued the following statement following reports that a U.S. Secret Service uniformed officer has been charged with soliciting a 14-year-old girl for sex, the result of a sting operation.

"The criminal complaint filed today against a uniformed Secret Service officer for soliciting a minor for sex is particularly troubling. Most of the public interest in the Secret Service recently has been directed toward agents because they are more closely associated with protecting the president and his family. However, the uniformed service provide security for the White House and other high-level, secure facilities, and the public more often comes in contact with uniformed Secret Service officers. According to the complaint, this officer has allegedly admitted to texting a Delaware State Police detective, posing as a 14-year-old girl, from a secure guard booth where the uniformed Secret Service officer was checking in visitors to the White House, as well as other locations while on duty. An adult soliciting a minor for sex is a serious and disturbing crime, but more so if the officer was on duty charged with security at the White House. The arrest of this officer should cause our Oversight and Government Reform Committee to look more closely at the uniformed officers, who comprise 1,300 of the Secret Service force."