NORFOLK, Va. – A Navy psychologist was sentenced to 14 years in prison for attempting to sexually coerce a minor.
Micahel Andrew Widroff, 34, a U.S. Navy officer serving as a psychologist in Norfolk, was caught by law enforcement on May 25, 2023, after posting a picture on the Whisper social media platform of a male dressed in a U.S. Navy Service Dress White uniform with an accompanying text indicating his desire to engage in fraternization or other violations of military law.
Widroff’s post was responded to in an undercover capacity by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) as a 14-year-old girl. Believing he was communicating with a child, Widroff moved the conversation to Snapchat and escalated the communications from casual to sexual.
Widroff described to the child, in graphic detail, numerous sexual acts in which he wanted them to engage. He requested “sexy” and nude photos of the child as well as sexually explicit recordings. Widroff then attempted to arrange for them to meet, repeatedly asking her to share the location of her house.
On June 7, 2023, when Widroff arrived in the neighborhood where he intended to meet a 14-year-old to engage in sex, law enforcement performed a traffic stop on Widroff. As he was being pulled over, Widroff deleted Snapchat from his phone.
Widroff pled guilty on October 12, 2023. Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Mack Hickman, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth W. Hanes.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Victoria Liu and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Yusi prosecuted the case. The 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.
Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Related Federal Cases
- Navy Officer Gets 14 Years for Trying to Sexually Coerce Minor · Virginia
- Virginia Beach Man Pleads Guilty to Luring Minor for Sex · Virginia
- U.S. Navy Sailor Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Production · North Carolina
- Ian Michael Cramer Sentenced in Minor Sex Transport Case · West Virginia
- Navy Chief Sterlin D. Williams Pleads Guilty to Child Porn Production · Virginia
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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