Miami weatherman accused of luring teen boy for sex
by TFSnewsRoom/AP
Well-known Miami weatherman accused of luring teen boy for sex
Associated Press
MIAMI - A longtime South Florida television meteorologist was arrested on charges he used a computer to arrange a sexual liaison with someone he thought was a 14-year-old boy, federal agents said Monday.
Bill Kamal, chief meteorologist for WSVN-TV in Miami, set up the meeting at a convenience store after a series of discussions over the phone and Internet instant messaging with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent posing as a minor, according to an arrest document.
Kamal was arrested Sunday afternoon by a federal task force and St. Lucie County sheriff's investigators as he stepped out of his black Jaguar at the store in Fort Pierce, about 115 miles north of Miami.
He later acknowledged arranging the meeting, but told agents he did not intend to have sex with the child, only that he wanted to give him love and "be a father to him," the arrest document said. Investigators also searched Kamal's laptop computer.
Kamal was being held on $200,000 bond St. Lucie County jail, said sheriff's spokesman Mark Weinberg.
No information on Kamal's lawyer was immediately available. He faces one to five years in prison if convicted of the third-degree felony.
Kamal was fired from WSVN after the arrest, said Robert W. Leider, the station's executive vice president and general manager.