Between sex trips to the Dominican Republic, Theodore Symonds used Facebook messages to request nude photos from the girls involved. He even got their names tattooed on him as they did his name on them.
One girl turned 16 during Symonds' 10 months of abusing her. The other was 13 when Symonds was abusing her. Symonds was 49. He was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison last week.
Symonds, 51, pleaded guilty to traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. He's been in jail since March 23, 2017, when he was arrested in the Dominican Republic city of Puerto Plata while he was there to see the 13-year-old. That got Immigration Customs & Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations Division looking into Symonds, who had lived in Oklahoma, Arizona and Wesley Chapel, Fla, over the past two decades.
They found that Symonds started up with the 15-year-old in January 2016. How they met isn't stated in Symonds' admission of facts. What is stated is he flew several times to the Dominican Republic for sex and, in between, used Facebook messages to tide himself over.
"On February 26 (2016), (Symonds) asked for a photograph, and when Minor A sent one of herself in the bathroom with a towel draped around her, (Symonds) stated: What the,he'll is,thatjajajaja no,twya (translation: "What the hell is that, haha, no towel.")," Symonds' admission states. "Minor Victim A then sent a nude photograph of herself without the towel."
Symonds used Western Union, MoneyGram and the girl's family to send money to her.
He did the same with the other girl. In December 2016, two months after Symonds stopped traveling to abuse the 15-year-old, he began doing it to rape the 13-year-old. Facebook messages, especially this one from Feb. 27, 2017, demonstrate he knew exactly how old the child was.
"Su hermosa baby 13 y su mi f _ _ _ mujer (translation: "You are beautiful, baby, 13 and you are my f _ _ _ woman)."
A week later, Symonds Facebook messaged a request for a photo of the 13-year-old's breasts and genitals.
The last thing on Symonds' admission of facts states, "(Symonds) has tattoos of the names of Minor Victim 1 and Minor Victim A. Both Minor Victim 1 and Minor Victim A have tattoos with (Symonds') name on them."
