A 40-year-old Navy sailor from Jacksonville, Florida, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for using the internet and his cellphone to attempt to entice a 13-year-old child to engage in sexual activity.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) conducted an undercover operation in which an agent posed as a 13-year-old child. The defendant engaged in sexually-explicit conversations with the undercover agent, confirmed the "child's" age, and arranged to meet in person.
The defendant was arrested on July 28, 2023, at a restaurant where he planned to meet the "child." He was found with explicit materials and items suggesting an intent to engage in sexual activity.
In addition to the prison term, the defendant was ordered to serve a 10-year term of supervised release, pay $48,000 in restitution to child victims, and register as a sex offender. https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/navy-sailor-sentenced-10-years-federal-prison-attempting-entice-and-meet-13-year-old (Oct. 02, 2024).
Commentary
According to the previously cited release from the Department of Justice the defendant sailor's name is Michael Brockway. The release provides details of the actions and evidence of Brockway and law enforcement that led to Brockway's arrest:
According to court documents, on July 17, 2023, an agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), posing as a 13-year-old child, began an undercover investigation designed to identify individuals who were seeking to meet children in person for sexual activity. The undercover agent, acting as the "child," began an online conversation on a particular social media application (app) with user "Telly_Rider," who was later identified as Brockway. From that day, continuing through July 28, 2023, Brockway and the "child" engaged in numerous sexually explicit conversations using two different social media apps and text messaging. During these online conversations, Brockway confirmed that the "child" was 13 years old, inquired about the "child's" sexual experience, and asked if the "child" wanted to meet him in person for sex.
On July 27, 2023, Brockway asked the "child" if "she" was alone for the next few days, and he confirmed that the "child" was living at a particular apartment complex in Jacksonville. Brockway sent the "child" explicit videos of himself that he produced while on duty as a sailor onboard a U.S. Navy ship docked at Naval Station Mayport. The following day, Brockway drove into the apartment complex where the "child" purportedly lived, then over to a nearby restaurant where the "child" agreed to meet him. Brockway exited his car, entered the restaurant to meet the "child," and was arrested by detectives from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. During a search incident to his arrest, Brockway's cellphone and three condoms were found in his pockets. A search of Brockway's car revealed a container of personal lubricant, an unopened bottle of vodka, and a sex toy. A search of Brockway's cellphone revealed numerous photos and videos that depicted children being sexually abused.
Several facts leap out in this matter. First, the use of two social media applications (not named) by the perpetrator to communicate to the target. Increasingly, social media is the communication channel perpetrators prefer to communicate with targets versus email, text, or chatrooms. One reason - the communications are harder to track and more private.
The perpetrator asked if the child was "alone". He also brought a sex toy, and an "unopened bottle of vodka" with him to meet the fictitious target.
The crime of child sexual abuse is committed in private places and in secrecy. That is why the perpetrator made sure the target would be alone. If the target was not alone, the perpetrator would have waited until the target was alone.
To lower the physical and emotional boundaries of the target, the perpetrator brought an unopened bottle of vodka. Alcohol and drugs are commonly provided by perpetrators to their targets to quickly lower boundaries and to cloud memory.
The sex toy was likely to meet some sexual need of the perpetrator or, if the criminal act was recorded, the needs of child pornography viewers. Whatever the reason, it is condemning evidence of intent.
The takeaway is that safe adults should continually be observant for "bits of information" or red flags that may indicate an adult may violate or harm children. These bits of information when singled out may mean little to nothing (except for sexually-explicit conversations with a child). However, when put together in context is strong evidence that a crime was going to be committed.
