Fernandina Beach Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Trying to Lure 11-Year-Old into Sex
Jacksonville, Florida – A federal judge has handed down a harsh sentence to William Rand Paige, Jr., a 50-year-old man from Fernandina Beach, after he pleaded guilty to attempting to entice an 11-year-old child to engage in sexual activity.
On November 29, 2023, an undercover FBI agent was online in a social messaging app when he was contacted by Paige, who used the username ‘ah..904’. Paige asked the agent if he and the ‘child’ would ‘like her to be touched all over’ after learning the child’s age.
Over the course of several online conversations, Paige discussed in graphic detail his desire to meet the ‘child’ and engage in sexual activity with her. When his account on the app was banned, Paige established a new account and continued communicating with the agent. On December 4 and 11, 2023, Paige sent the undercover agent three videos depicting young children being sexually abused.
A search warrant executed at Paige’s residence on December 18, 2023, revealed a stash of child pornography on his cellphone, including one photo and one video.
Paige was arrested on December 18, 2023, and has been detained since then. He pleaded guilty on February 13, 2024, and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by a 10-year term of supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.
This case is a sobering reminder of the dangers of online child exploitation and the importance of holding perpetrators accountable for their crimes. We hope that this conviction brings some measure of justice to the victims and their families.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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