PENSACOLA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO ENGAGING IN A CRIMINAL ONLINE CHILD EXPLOITATION ENTERPRISE

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Michael D. Whitacre, Jr., 31, of Pensacola, Florida, pleaded guilty in federal court for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise, distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography involving minors under 12 years of age. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin said, “I deeply appreciate the incredible investigative work by our state and federal law enforcement partners that led to the identification and arrest of this sick individual. It is one of my office’s top priorities to keep our children safe from the predators, like this defendant, who seek to exploit and victimize our most vulnerable members of the community.”

Court documents reflect that the defendant was part of an encrypted online group who shared significant amounts of graphic child pornography.  There were over 70 members of the illicit group, which operated in early 2025.  The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, with the support of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, was initially notified about Whitacre’s online actions via a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. A forensic analysis conducted by an expert at Homeland Security Investigations revealed a wealth of child sexual abuse material on the defendant’s cellular telephone along with his access to the online child exploitation enterprise.

Sentencing is set for January 14, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. before United States District Judge M. Casey Rodgers. Whitacre faces up to life imprisonment.

The case involved a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David L. Goldberg.

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.