JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville man faces up to 30 years behind bars after pleading guilty to attempted production of child sex abuse images.
The Department of Justice says Tadd Andrew Melton, 33, was arrested on July 23, 2021, and has been detained since his arrest.
The DOJ says Melton faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years, and up to 30 years, in federal prison and a potential lifetime term of supervised release.
According to the plea agreement, on February 2, 2021, a federal agent working in an undercover capacity entered a chat group in an online social media app that featured users with a sexual interest in children. While using a particular chat application, the federal agent assumed the persona of the mother of a 9-year-old female child.
Melton contacted the undercover agent and expressed interest in receiving child sex abuse images of the “child.” Law enforcement was able to identify Melton as the user of the account chatting with the undercover agent based on his account information and investigation into his background.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington.
The forfeiture of assets is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Mai Tran.
This is another case 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.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
