Jury Convicts Tallahassee Man of Attempting to Entice a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA / Thursday, July 10, 2025 – Jelani Amari Petersen, 28, of Tallahassee, Florida, was found guilty by a federal jury yesterday of attempting to entice a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity. The verdict was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “I am proud of the great work by my office and our state and federal law enforcement partners to take this sex offender off our streets. This case exemplifies the mission set forth by President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pamela Bondi: protect America’s children against predators like this defendant. My office will continue to aggressively prosecute such offenses to keep our most vulnerable members of the community safe from the predations of these sick individuals.”
Trial testimony demonstrated that in September 2024, federal, state, and local law enforcement executed Operation Lifeguard, an undercover operation designed to apprehend individuals who use the Internet to sexually exploit children online. During the operation, Petersen communicated with an undercover officer who he believed to be a minor female, and expressed interest in engaging in sexual activity with the child in exchange for money. When Petersen arrived at a pre-arranged meeting location, law enforcement arrested him and searched his car. A subsequent search of his cellular phone, confirmed his communication with the undercover officers.
Petersen faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum of life imprisonment, followed by a term of five years to life of supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
The case involved a joint investigation by the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Justin M. Keen and Meredith Steer.
Sentencing is scheduled for October 3, 2025, at 11:00 am at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee before Chief United States District Judge Allen C. Winsor.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice and led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), it marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
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United States Attorney’s Office
Northern District of Florida
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Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Florida
