Fort Pierce Pervert Chad Pease Indicted For Luring Teen

Orlando, Florida – In a shocking case of a convicted sex offender preying on a minor, 48-year-old Chad Allen Pease of Fort Pierce faces a serious charge of attempting to entice a 13-year-old to engage in sex. According to the indictment, this is not Pease’s first offense.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida has announced the return of an indictment charging Chad Allen Pease with attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity and committing a felony offense involving a minor when required to register as a sex offender. If convicted on all counts, Pease faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 20 years, up to life, in federal prison.

According to court documents, on February 3, 2024, Pease began communicating with an undercover law enforcement officer (UC) whom Pease believed to be the father of a 13-year-old girl. Over the course of the conversation, Pease made plans to meet up with the UC and his “daughter” so that Pease could have sex with the child. On February 4, 2024, Pease traveled to the prearranged meeting spot and was later arrested.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Richard Varadan.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

The indictment also notifies Pease that the United States intends to forfeit assets which were used in commission or are alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offense.