Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Travel with Intent to Engage in Unlawful Sex and Transportation of Child Pornography

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Michael Fegley Jr., 31, of Tampa, Florida pled guilty yesterday to travel with intent to engage in unlawful sexual conduct and transportation of child pornography. Acting United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), made the announcement.

As part of his guilty plea, Fegley admitted that he traveled from Florida to the Northern District of New York intending to engage in unlawful sexual conduct with a purported 13-year-old child. He also admitted that he brought with him about 1,000 images and videos depicting child pornography that he had obtained on the internet.

At sentencing on April 27, 2026, Fegley faces a mandatory minimum imprisonment term of 5 years and a maximum of 20 years on the child pornography charge and a maximum of 30 years on the travel charge, a term of supervised release of at least five years and up to life, restitution to victims, court-ordered destruction of property used to commit the offenses, special assessments, fines, and registration as a sex offender upon his release from prison.

A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is convicted of violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

Acting U.S. Attorney Sarcone said: “The defendant’s admitted conduct is deeply disturbing. He not only traveled across multiple states to meet a purported child for unlawful sexual conduct, but he brought with him vile depictions of the sexual abuse of children. Let the defendant’s case be a warning to all predators: If you come into the Northern District of New York with the goal of harming a child, you will be prosecuted.”

“This individual’s calculated decision to cross multiple state lines in pursuit of exploiting someone who he believed was a child demonstrates a disturbing level of predatory intent,” said Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Buffalo. “HSI will stop at nothing to track down and bring to justice those who target children, regardless of where their crimes take them. HSI Albany, together with our partners, is unwavering in their resolve to shield children from harm and see that those who prey on them are held to account.”

This case was investigated by HSI in coordination with the New York State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Michael D. Gadarian is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood.

Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.

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