Marion County Man Sentenced To More Than 11 Years For Transporting A Minor With The Intent To Engage In Sexual Activity

Ocala, Florida – United States District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Thomas Allen Ebersole (32, Dunnellon) to 11 years and 3 months in federal prison for transporting a minor with the intent to engage in sexual activity. Ebersole is also required to register as a sex offender. He entered a guilty plea on January 6, 2025.  

According to court records, in December 2023, Ebersole met and communicated with a 16-year-old girl through online video games. On December 28, 2023, Ebersole drove from his home in Marion County to Ohio, where the minor lived. He then drove the victim back to his Florida home to engage in sexual activity with her. After the victim’s family reported her missing, law enforcement identified the Internet Protocol (IP) address the victim had used to play video games while at Ebersole’s home. Law enforcement located and removed the victim from Ebersole’s home on January 3, 2024. The victim told law enforcement that she never left Ebersole’s home during the week she had been missing. She also admitted that Ebersole had engaged in sexual intercourse with her multiple times, which was subsequently confirmed through DNA testing.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, and the Lima (Ohio) Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Hannah Nowalk Watson.

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 the United States Attorney’s 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.