Georgia Man Arrested And Charged With Attempted Online Enticement Of A Child To Engage In Sexual Activity

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Jeremy Lee Hughes (41, Brunswick, GA) has been arrested and charged by criminal complaint with using the Internet to attempt to entice a person he believed to be a minor to engage in sexual activity.  He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. Hughes is currently in custody on related state charges. 

According to the complaint, between April 1 and April 6, 2016, Hughes engaged in a series of online conversations with a person he believed to be a 14-year old girl.  This "child" was actually an undercover officer from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.  During the conversations, Hughes described various types of sexual activity to the “child” and indicated his desire and intent to meet the “child” for sex at her residence.  On April 6, 2016, Hughes drove from Jacksonville to a location in St. Johns to meet the “child” for sex and was arrested.  During an interview, Hughes acknowledged texting with the “child” about engaging in graphic sexual acts.  

According to the complaint, Hughes has outstanding arrest warrants for charges of aggravated child molestation and incest in Georgia.    

This case was investigated by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

It is another case 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 the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.