Registered Sex Offender Found Guilty of Attempting to Entice a Minor for Sex

Pensacola, Florida - David A. Girard, 70, of Robertsdale, Alabama, was found guilty by a jury in federal court of attempted enticement of a minor, traveling in interstate commerce for the purpose of illicit sexual conduct, and committing a felony involving a minor while being a registered sex offender. The conviction was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: "This repeat sex offender has clearly shown that the only way to ensure the safety of our kids from his sexual predations is to keep him locked behind bars. The threats our kids face online are growing, but our excellent law enforcement partners are up to the task to stay one step ahead of predators, like this defendant, who seek to sexually exploit and victimize children. For our part, my office will continue to aggressively prosecute these crimes to ensure these sick individuals are removed from our communities for as long as possible."

Evidence at trial demonstrated that in October 2025, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, along with other law enforcement partners, conducted an undercover operation directed at identifying people who were soliciting minors online for sex. On October 17, 2025, the defendant began talking with someone he believed was a fourteen-year-old child. He told the purported child the sexual acts he wanted to perform on the child and arranged a meeting location in Pensacola, Florida. When the defendant traveled to meet the purported child at the agreed upon location, he was arrested by law enforcement. Electronic evidence seized pursuant to a search warrant confirmed the defendant had, in fact, talked to the person he believed was a child and traveled to meet him.

Girard faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment, and up to life imprisonment, on Count 1, and up to 30 years' imprisonment on Count 2. Girard faces a mandatory 10-year term of imprisonment on Count 3 consecutive to any sentence imposed on Count 1.

This conviction was the result of an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, Florida Highway Patrol, and the United States Marshals Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David L. Goldberg and Thomas S.P. Geeker.

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 the U.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.