Miramar Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Exploitation Charges
Gainesville, Florida / Monday, September 14, 2026 – Arthur Young, 23, of Miramar, Florida pleaded guilty in federal court to the sexual exploitation of children, producing child pornography, and possession of child pornography. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the plea today.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “Our children face unprecedented threats online from sexual predators seeking to sexually exploit and victimize them. It is vitally important for parents to be aware of those threats and what their kids are doing online to prevent them from being victimized. Keeping our kids safe, both online and in our communities, is a top priority for my office, and we will continue to aggressively prosecute these crimes to ensure predators, like this defendant, are locked away behind bars where they belong.”
Court documents reflect that between at least May 2024 and September 2024, the defendant communicated with a twelve-year-old child he met online. The defendant initiated multiple live video calls with her and, during these calls, used, induced, and persuaded her to engage in sexually explicit conduct. After the minor’s family reported the defendant’s misconduct to law enforcement, the subsequent investigation revealed that the defendant communicated online with over thirty other minors across multiple social media platforms. Law enforcement also recovered numerous files of child pornography on the defendant’s electronic devices.
Young faces a minimum term of fifteen years’ imprisonment, a maximum term of fifty years’ imprisonment, and a lifetime on supervised release.
Sentencing is scheduled before Chief United States District Judge Allen C. Winsor, in Gainesville, Florida on November 23, 2026, at 1:00 p.m.
The case was jointly investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Gainesville Police Department, and the Westminster (Colorado) Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Adam Hapner is prosecuting the case.
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. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood 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 Justice.gov/PSC.
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 https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl.
Contact
United States Attorney’s Office
Northern District of Florida
USAFLN.Press.Office@usdoj.gov
X: @USAO_NDFL
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Florida
