Middle District of Florida | Marion County Man Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Entice Minor into Sexual Activity

Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Joseph Raymond Morin, 51, of Ocala, has pleaded guilty to attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. Morin faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years to life in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, between May 3 and June 26, 2024, Morin communicated online with someone he believed was a 13-year-old girl. The child was actually an undercover Homeland Security Investigations special agent. Morin engaged in a sexually explicit conversation with the undercover agent. Morin was ultimately arrested when he traveled to a predetermined meeting place in Marion County to meet the fictitious minor to engage in sexual acts.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Abuse and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to investigate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.