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Press Release

Winter Haven Man Sentenced To 17 Years In Prison For The Attempted Sexual Enticement Of A Minor

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida

Orlando, FL – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron today sentenced Edward Alan Vadney (23, Winter Haven) to 17 years in federal prison for the attempted sexual enticement of a minor. The Court also ordered Vadney to serve a life term of supervision and to register as a sex offender following his release from prison.   He pleaded guilty on September 4, 2014.

According to court documents, on May 15, 2014, an FBI agent, working in an undercover capacity, discovered an Internet advertisement seeking young girls’ underwear. The agent began corresponding online with the individual; he was later identified as Vadney. During the online conversations, the agent told Vadney that he had two daughters who were ages six and ten. Vadney expressed his interest in meeting and having sex with the children, and arrangements were made to meet at a location in Lake Mary.
The following morning, Vadney traveled from Winter Haven to Lake Mary. When he arrived at the predetermined meeting spot, he was taken into custody. Vadney later admitted that he had traveled to Lake Mary to have sex with the man’s daughters, and that he was going to do it because it was “cool” with the children’s “father.” 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph M. Schuster.

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 (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.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Updated January 26, 2015