ALABAMA MAN INDICTED FOR TRAVELING TO FLORIDA TO ENGAGE IN ILLICIT SEXUAL CONDUCT WITH A MINOR

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Justin William Gifford, 26, of Enterprise, Alabama, has been indicted in federal court on one count of attempted enticement of a minor, one count of attempted transfer of obscene material to minors, and one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the charges.

Gifford is scheduled for his arraignment in federal court before United States Magistrate Judge Martin A. Fitzpatrick on August 19, 2025, at 2:30 p.m. in Tallahassee, Florida.

If convicted as charged, Gifford faces up to life imprisonment.           

This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Panama City Beach Police Department, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Eric K Mountin.

An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice and led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), it marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.