Michigan Sex Offender Sentenced To Life For Traveling To Destin To Have Sex With A Child

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Ronald Roscoe, 56, of Traverse City, Michigan, was sentenced in federal court
today to life in prison for attempted enticement of a minor, travel with intent to engage in illicit
sexual conduct, and transporting material involving sexual exploitation of minors. The sentence was
announced by Lawrence Keefe, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

“It’s hard to imagine the level of depravity that leads someone to try to entice an adolescent into
a sexual encounter,” Keefe said. “The depth of moral corruption behind this scheme is the reason
the U.S. Attorney’s Office is unyielding in its prosecution of these predators.”

In September 2018, an undercover Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office investigator began chatting
online to identify individuals interested in exploiting children. An individual, later identified
as Roscoe, sent a private message via a social media platform to the investigator, who was posing
as a 12-year-old girl. Over the next month, Roscoe discussed engaging in sexual activity with the
investigator posing as the girl and about meeting “her” in Florida.

During the week of October 15, 2018, Roscoe informed the “girl” that he had purchased an airplane
ticket to fly from Michigan to Florida to engage in sexual activity with her over the upcoming
weekend. Law enforcement located a hotel in Destin where Roscoe had reserved a room. Roscoe was
arrested at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport. A search of his cellular telephone revealed child
pornography images and videos depicting children under age 12.

“This child predator thought he was traveling to Florida to have sex with a child,” said Micah
McCombs, Tampa Assistant Special Agent in Charge with Homeland Security Investigations. “Instead,
he was stopped by HSI special agents and our partners at the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office,
highlighting the important work of the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.”

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s
Office, and the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The case was prosecuted
by First Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey M. Tharp.

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.