Port Charlotte Man Pleads Guilty to Enticing Minor for Sexual Activity

FORT MYERS, Florida — James Gregory Ford, 34, of Port Charlotte, pleaded guilty May 7 in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida to coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity.

The single count to which Ford pleaded guilty carries a statutory mandatory minimum of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. A sentencing date has not been set.

The plea resolves the case against Ford individually. No co-defendants are named in the announcement. The count of conviction stems from conduct that federal law prohibits under 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b), which applies when an individual uses the internet, mail or any facility of interstate commerce to knowingly persuade, induce, entice or coerce a person under 18 to engage in prostitution or any sexual activity that would be criminal.

The guilty plea changes Ford’s legal status from defendant to convicted offender. Sentencing will now proceed under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which calculate a range based on the base offense level for enticement of a minor, specific offense characteristics, and criminal-history category. The mandatory minimum 10-year term cannot be reduced below that floor by judicial discretion.

Downstream, the conviction triggers mandatory sex-offender registration requirements upon release. It also obligates the Bureau of Prisons to classify Ford under its sex-offender management protocols during any term of incarceration. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida will submit a sentencing memorandum that may seek enhancements for use of a computer or for the age of the victim; the defense will have an opportunity to file its own objections and mitigation materials before the judge imposes sentence.

This case forms part of the routine docket of federal enticement prosecutions brought under statutes enacted after the PROTECT Act of 2003. The Department of Justice has used the same charge in hundreds of cases annually, most often involving online communications with undercover officers posing as minors.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida.

Primary sources: U.S. Department of Justice