Ocala Man Pleads Guilty To Attempted Enticement Of A Minor To Engage In Sexual Activity

Ocala, Florida– United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Scott Alan Colson (60, Ocala) has entered a guilty plea to the offense of attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. Colson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. A federal grand jury indicted Colson on August 6, 2024. 

According to court records, on July 24, 2024, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office undercover detective posed as a 15-year-old girl on an online messaging application. Colson contacted the undercover detective’s account and inquired as to whether the “girl” ever had ever been with older men and asked to meet her. Colson added, “You keep secrets if we meet up.” Colson then engaged in a sexually explicit conversation with the undercover detective, telling the detective to “make it easy to get down ur pantys.” Colson eventually agreed to meet the girl at a predetermined location in Marion County, where he was arrested by law enforcement.

When interviewed by law enforcement, Colson admitted to engaging in the sexually explicit conversation and then traveling to meet the fictional minor to engage in sexual activity. An examination of Colson’s cellular telephone revealed other child sexual exploitation materials.

This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by AUSA 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.