Guatemalan National Sentenced to Federal Prison for Attempting to Meet a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity
Ocala, Florida / Friday, September 18, 2026 – Ismael Osbaldo Pedro Tomas (24, Guatemala) has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber to 10 years in federal prison for attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. Pedro Tomas pleaded guilty on May 27, 2026. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
According to court documents, between July 22 and August 11, 2025, Pedro Tomas communicated online with someone whom he believed was a 13-year-old prostitute. That individual, however, was an undercover detective with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. During the conversation, Pedro Tomas discussed the sexual activity in which he wanted to engage and the associated costs. Ultimately, he traveled to a predetermined meeting location in Marion County to meet the minor for that purpose. Pedro Tomas was arrested by law enforcement when he arrived at the meeting location.
This case was investigated by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida
