ORLANDO, Fla. – Ex-Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg entered a not guilty plea to the latest federal charges against him that include child sex trafficking.
Greenberg waived his arraignment Monday in federal court and entered a plea of not guilty, court documents show.
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Greenberg was indicted Aug. 19 on new federal charges that allege he used his access to state databases to recruit and solicit an underage girl for sex.
Greenberg, who resigned as tax collector in June after his arrest on federal stalking charges, was indicted by a federal grand jury on the new charges, which include sex trafficking of a child and violating the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act.
The former elected official is already facing charges and accused of using information from surrendered driver’s licenses to make fake IDs with his picture on it, according to a federal indictment. He is also accused of stalking and making fake social media accounts in order to start rumors about his political opponent and paint the victim as a white supremacist.
According to the new federal indictment, Greenberg used fake IDs for individuals he was involved in “sugar daddy relationships” with and to engage in “commercial sex acts.”
Greenberg used the state Driver And Vehicle Information Database, known as DAVID, to obtain, disclose, transfer and use personal information, including for individuals Greenberg was engaged in “sugar daddy” relationships with, federal prosecutors allege. The fake IDs Greenberg made were used to “facilitate his efforts to engage in commercial sex acts,” according to court documents.
Greenberg knowingly recruited and solicited a minor to engage in sex acts, according to the indictment. The victim was between 14 and 17 years old, according to the federal indictment.
The former tax collector now faces up to 12 federal charges, including unlawful use of means of identification of another person, producing false identification, identity theft and stalking. He also plead not guilty to previous charges.