Rodney Paul Martin Sentenced To 90 Months For Enticement Of A Minor To Engage In Criminal Sexual Activity

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – On March 27, 2025, Rodney Paul Martin, 58, formerly of Homosassa, Florida, was sentenced to 90 months by the Honorable Charles E. Atchley, Jr., United States District Judge, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Chattanooga.  Following Martin’s imprisonment, he will be on supervised release for 15 years and will be required to register with state sex offender registries and comply with special sex offender conditions

As part of the plea agreement filed with the court, Mr. Martin agreed to plead guilty to an indictment charging him with one count of enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2422(b) and 2427.

According to the filed plea agreement, Martin, using a social media platform, contacted a notional 15-year-old minor boy, who was, in fact, an undercover officer with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).  Using a messaging application, Martin attempted to entice the notional minor into creating sexually explicit images and transmitting those images to Martin over the internet

U.S. Attorney, Francis M. Hamilton III, of the Eastern District of Tennessee; and Special Agent in Charge, Joseph E. Carrico, of the FBI, made the announcement.

The criminal indictment was the result of an investigation by the FBI.

Special Assistant United States Attorney Charles D. Minor, assigned from the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office, and Assistant United States Attorney James T. Brooks represented the United States.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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 the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC 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 PSC, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab "resources.”

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