Undercover Operation Leads to Child Exploitation Conviction of Tallahassee Man

Tallahassee, Florida - Chandler Brittain Smith, 27, of Tallahassee, Florida, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of distribution of attempted enticement of a minor and one count of attempted transfer of obscene material to minors. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: "The threats our kids face online are growing, but our excellent state and federal law enforcement partners are committed to catching the predators seeking to sexually exploit and victimize children using the internet. My office will continue to aggressively prosecute these sick individuals to ensure they are kept behind bars, off the internet, and away from our kids."

Court documents reflect that in November 2025, Homeland Security Investigations, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Tallahassee Police Department conducted an undercover operation in Leon County focused on identifying individuals using the Internet to sexually exploit children. During the operation, law enforcement acted in an undercover capacity on an online social media platform posing as a minor child. Records show that over a two-day period the defendant sent the undercover investigator multiple sexually explicit messages and an obscene photo in an effort to entice and persuade the fictitious child to meet him for sexual activity. On November 10, 2025, the defendant traveled to a pre-determined meeting location and he was arrested.

Smith faces a minimum of 5 years' imprisonment, and up to life imprisonment on the attempted enticement count. Smith also faces up to 10 years' imprisonment on the attempted transfer of obscene materials count.

Sentencing is scheduled for September 18, 2026, at 2:00 pm, at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida before United States District Judge Mark E. Walker.

The case is being jointly investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Tallahassee Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin M. Keen.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and 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 Justice.gov/PSC.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation's principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit theU.S. District Court for the Northern District of FloridaLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. website. For more information about the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl.