Ala. man sentenced to more than 15 years on child exploitation charges

PANAMA CITY, Fla. — An Alabama man was sentenced Wednesday to 188 months in federal prison and ordered to serve a lifetime of supervised release for using the Internet to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity and traveling across state lines to engage in sexual activity with a minor. The sentence resulted from an investigation by the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which includes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bay County Sheriff's Office and the Gainesville Police Department.

Evidence presented during trial proved that on June 13, 2012, law enforcement officers, acting in an undercover capacity, posted an advertisement on Craigslist posing as a 13-year-old female. Jeffrey Monroe Roy, 48, of Mobile, Ala., responded to the posting. During the next three days, Roy engaged in email chats and telephone calls that were sexual in nature with a person he believed to be a 13-year-old female named Jaz. During his communications with Jaz, Roy discussed numerous sexual situations and attempted to entice the 13-year-old female to engage in sexual activity with him. After making arrangements to meet Jaz, Roy drove from Mobile June 16, 2012, to meet with her at a predetermined location, where he was arrested and found to be in possession of Viagra, condoms, a camera, a knife, handcuffs, a first-aid kit and a deck of 52 sex-position cards.

This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2013, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.