Palm Bay Man Sentenced To 10 Years For Attempted Sexual Enticement Of A Minor

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza has sentenced Charles Martin Eberlen (61, Palm Bay) to 10 years in federal prison for attempted sexual enticement of a minor.  In addition, the Court ordered him to serve a five-year term of supervision, and to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. Eberlen pleaded guilty on September 14, 2015. 

According to court documents, in February 2015, Eberlen communicated online with an individual he believed was a 14-year-old boy, but who was actually an undercover law enforcement officer.  During one of the exchanges, Eberlen asked for a nude photograph of the “child.”  On February 12, 2015, Eberlen agreed to meet the “child” in a convenience store parking lot in Brevard County so that he could have oral sex with him.  When Eberlen arrived at the meeting place, he was arrested by agents. 

This case was investigated by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew C. Searle.

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.