Sex Offender Offers 14-Year-Old Girl $50 For Sex

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Deltona, FL - A registered sex offender is in hot water after deputies learn he tried offering a 14-year-old girl $50 for sex as she walked home from school.

The Volusia Sheriff’s Office (VSO) says investigators were following up on the girl’s report when they finally connected Shawn Winemiller to the provocative proposition. The connection was made after someone saw the VSO’s post asking the public to identify Winemiller, whose identity was not known at the time.

A resident on Elkcam Boulevard, where the incident took place on Thursday (Jan. 27), saw the post and later found out that his security cameras also captured a view of the suspect. Deputies collected that video and went on the hunt for other security cameras. 

In the midst of their search, a deputy saw a man approaching on the sidewalk on a bicycle. They talked to him and got his ID and ultimately showed him the surveillance image that captured him after Thursday’s incident. Then they called the victim, who positively identified Winemiller as the man who offered her money for sex.

Winemiller denied the allegations. A search of his criminal past revealed he is a registered sex offender who was convicted of sexual battery and unlawful sexual activity with minors in a 1992 incident in Hillsborough County. Now Winemiller is charged with aggravated stalking of a minor and lewd or lascivious battery by encouraging a minor to engage in prostitution or sexual activity.

Deputies also found out his ID did not display his sex offender status, as required by law. He’s facing an additional felony charge because of that. He remains in the Volusia County Jail on no bond.