Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced the return of an indictment charging Michael Doherty (51, Texas) with attempted sexual enticement of a minor.
According to court documents, on March 10, 2015, an FBI agent acting in an undercover capacity responded to an Internet advertisement that Doherty had posted about incestuous sexual encounters.
The agent responded to the ad posing as the father of a 10-year-old daughter that he was sexually abusing. Over the next several days, Doherty and the agent discussed the agent’s abuse of his ‘daughter.’ Doherty told the agent that he wanted to watch the agent have sex with the child, and also requested naked photos of the child.
Doherty later told the agent that he traveled to Florida on business and wanted to ‘watch’ the agent and the child. Over the course of the next several days, Doherty and the agent continued to discuss Doherty’s plans to visit. Doherty sent the agent numerous explicit pictures of himself, and he told the agent that when they met, he wanted to have sex with the 10-year-old girl.
On April 8, 2015, Doherty traveled from Miami to Lake Mary, and rented a hotel room. On his way, he stopped and bought a present for the child. When Doherty left his hotel and approached the ‘father’ with whom he had been communicating, he was 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.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph M. Schuster.
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.
If convicted, Doherty faces a mandatory minimum term of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Doherty that the United States intends to forfeit the electronic media that is alleged to have been used in the commission of the offense.
The indictment charges Doherty with one count of attempted sexual enticement of a minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2422(b). The indictment was returned on April 9, 2015, in the Middle District of Florida.
Related Federal Cases
- Michael Doherty, Attempted Sexual Enticement of a Minor, Florida 2015 · Florida
- Justin William Gifford, Attempted Enticement of a Minor, Florida 2023 · Florida
- Michael Craig Gorycki, Attempted Child Enticement, Florida 2020 · Florida
- Zachary S. Spiegel, Attempted Online Enticement of a Minor, Florida 2023 · Florida
- Tulio Ivan Figueroa-Carrion, Attempted Enticement of a Minor, Florida 2024 · Florida
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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