Lavern Lee Renninger, Attempted Online Enticement of a Minor, Florida 2020

A 60-year-old Zephyrhills man has been charged with attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity online.

According to the complaint, Lavern Lee Renninger engaged in chats with an individual he believed to be the mother of two minor female children through an online classified advertising site and text messaging. On multiple occasions during those conversations, Renninger indicated his desire to engage in sexual activity with those minor children.

The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office and Homeland Security Investigations investigated this case, and it will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington.

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.

Lavern Lee Renninger faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison and a potential life term of supervised release if convicted.

The exact date of the crime is March 3 through March 18, 2020.

This case will be prosecuted in the federal court of Jacksonville, Florida.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/sixty-year-old-zephyrhills-man-charged-attempted-online-enticement-minor-engage-illegal