Orlando man with prior sex crimes charged with allegedly luring minor

An Orlando man is once again at the center of federal charges, as a grand jury indictment points to Delta Henry Rushing II, a 29-year-old with a history of sex crimes, for luring a minor into sexual activity. Under the thick shadow of prior sex offender convictions, Rushing now faces a minimum of 20 years and possibly life in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.

Despite the seriousness of the crimes, which occurred between November and December 2022, Rushing, having once fallen foul of the law, is accused of using his assets to engage and entice someone he knew who was under the age of 18 to commit illegal acts. The indictment seeks not only to hold him accountable for his actions, but also to forfeit all assets he used to facilitate these charges.

Project Safe Childhood, an initiative aimed at stemming the tide of child sexual exploitation that this case has brought to the legal arena, has thrown its weight behind the prosecution. The project’s mention by U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg is a sign of the Justice Department’s commitment to protecting minors from such predators. The case against Rushing, brought by Homeland Security Investigations and the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, is being prepared by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaley Austin-Aronson.

The gravity of such accusations is painfully obvious to us; an indictment is merely an accusation, not a conviction, and every soul charged rests under the presumption of innocence until the gavel rings with the weight of guilt, the United States Attorney’s Office clarifies. In partnership with Project Safe Childhood, a detailed and methodical effort that mirrors the national fight against child abuse and exploitation, the United States Attorney’s Office draws on resources across the federal, state, and local landscape to track down and bring to justice the accused, and just as importantly, to rescue the victims caught in their wake.