Tallahassee Man Sentenced to Decade in Federal Prison for Attempting to Have Sex with a Minor

Tallahassee, Florida - Joseph Edward Hudson, 38, of Tallahassee, Florida, was sentenced to ten years in federal prison for attempting to entice or persuade a minor to engage in sexual activity. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said, "Parents must be aware that sexual predators like this defendant have more ways than ever to prey upon our kids using internet and social media platforms to try to sexually exploit them. Fortunately, our state and federal law enforcement partners are relentless in their efforts to identify and stop those disgusting criminals before they can victimize our children, and it remains one of my office's top priorities to aggressively prosecute these cases to keep these predators locked away in prison to ensure our kids are safe."

Court documents reflect that between April 10, 2025, and April 12, 2025, detectives of the Tallahassee Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies, along with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations, participated in a joint undercover operation in Tallahassee focused on identifying individuals using the Internet to sexually exploit children. During the operation, investigators identified the defendant, an adult male who was soliciting minors for sex through a social media platform. The defendant believed that he was going to be engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl when he drove to a meeting location where he was immediately arrested.

After serving his 10 years of imprisonment, Hudson will have to serve 15 years on supervised release and register as a sexual offender.

"Attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity is a grave crime that threatens the safety and well-being of our children," said Homeland Security Investigations Tallahassee Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Ingegno. "This sentence reflects our unwavering commitment to protecting vulnerable youth and holding offenders fully accountable. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who seek to exploit children online."

The case involved a joint investigation by the Tallahassee Police Department and the U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Leon County Sheriff's Office. The case was 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 and led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), it 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 https://www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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 Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney's Office, Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl.