ILLEGAL ALIEN PLEADS GUILTY TO ATTEMPTING TO ENTICE OR PERSUADE A MINOR TO ENGAGE IN SEXUAL ACTIVITY

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Mauricio Morales-Gonzalez, 24, of Mexico, pleaded guilty in federal court to attempting to entice or persuade a minor to engage in sexual activity. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “Thanks to the relentless efforts of our incredible law enforcement partners, another child predator is behind bars and the community is safer.  It is one of our most important duties to protect the most vulnerable members of our community from the predations of these sick individuals, and my office will continue to aggressively prosecute those who seek to sexually exploit our children.”

Court documents reflect that between April 10, 2025, and April 12, 2025, detectives of the Tallahassee Police Department and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, along with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, participated in a joint undercover operation in Leon County focused on identifying individuals using the Internet to exploit children in a sexual manner. During the operation, investigators identified Morales-Gonzalez, an adult male who was soliciting minors for sex through an online website. Morales-Gonzalez believed he was going to be engaging in sexual activity with a minor when he drove to a meeting location where he was met by law enforcement and immediately arrested.

Morales-Gonzalez faces a minimum mandatory of 10 years’ imprisonment up to life imprisonment, followed by five years to life of supervision upon release.

The case involved a joint investigation by the Leon County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Tallahassee Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin M. Keen.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 27, 2025, at 10:00 am at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, before Chief United States District Judge Allen C. Winsor.

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.

This case is also part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline ) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

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.