TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—The Florida Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution has secured a 12-year prison sentence for Jarrod Long, a child predator in Orange County. Long responded to an online advertisement and began communicating with someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl. Despite being informed twice that he was conversing with a minor, Long requested numerous lewd photographs and arranged to meet for sex.
Acting Attorney General John Guard stated, “This child predator responded to an ad where he thought he was speaking to a 13-year-old girl and tried to meet up for sex. Thanks to our Office of Statewide Prosecution, this despicable criminal instead will serve a lengthy sentence behind bars.”
An investigation revealed that Long initially responded to the ad and began chatting with an individual who identified as a 13-year-old girl about two minutes into the conversation. After being repeatedly informed of her age, Long asked the individual to delete the messages, changed his contact number, and resumed communication — again requesting lewd photographs and arranging a meeting for sex. The investigation resulted from an FBI Cyber Task Force sting operation.
Long was convicted on charges including use of a computer for child exploitation, solicitation to promote the sexual performance by a child, and unlawful use of a two-way communications device. In addition to his prison term, Long will be registered as a sex offender for life.
Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Rebecca Smith-Hameroff led the prosecution in this case. The Orlando Police Department and the FBI conducted this joint investigation.
