U.S. Department
of Justice
Press Release
Ocala Man Indicted For Attempted Transfer Of Obscene Material To A Minor
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida
Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Benjamin Hoover (44, Ocala) with attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor. If convicted, Hoover faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. Hoover is currently detained pending the resolution of the case.
According to the indictment and evidence presented in court, on July 23, 2025, Hoover transferred a sexually explicit image of himself to someone whom he believed was a 15-year-old girl. In actuality, the minor was an undercover detective with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. It will be 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.
Updated December 4, 2025
Topic
Project Safe Childhood
Component