Nicholas Darwin Yancey, Child Enticement, Florida 2014

Tampa Man Pleads Guilty to Child Enticement, Faces Life in Federal Prison

Tampa, Florida - In a disturbing case of online predator activity, Nicholas Darwin Yancey, a 30-year-old former U.S. Air Force enlistee, pleaded guilty to child enticement, a federal crime that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

According to a plea agreement, on February 10, 2014, Yancey posted an advertisement on Craigslist soliciting members of the public for 'texting/sexting.' An undercover law enforcement officer with the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, posing as a 14-year-old child, responded to the ad and initiated a months-long online conversation with Yancey.

Yancey engaged in sexually explicit conversation and solicited nude photographs of the 'child.' He also stated that he had a crush on her and invited her to a sleepover at a hotel on MacDill Air Force Base. The conversation continued, with Yancey expressing his desire to engage in sexual intercourse with the 'child' and possibly one of her friends.

On June 26, 2014, the undercover officer observed additional postings from Yancey on Craigslist and responded to one of the advertisements, posing as a second 'child.' Yancey and the second 'child' communicated using an Internet messaging application, and he told her that he wanted to engage in sexual intercourse with her and possibly one of her friends.

Yancey arranged to meet the second 'child' for sex on July 3, 2014, but later attempted to change the meeting. When the second 'child' declined, Yancey informed her that he would simply go down the list, referring to his ability to find another person to meet. On June 27, 2014, he contacted the first 'child' and arranged to meet her later that week for sex.

On June 29, 2014, Yancey traveled to the Ballast Point area of Tampa, where they had arranged to meet, and was arrested. The case was investigated by the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and it is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Amanda C. Kaiser.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. government to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The initiative marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

Nicholas Darwin Yancey, Child Enticement, Florida 2014

Defendant: Nicholas Darwin Yancey

Criminal Charges: Child enticement

City and State: Tampa, Florida

Date: February 10, 2014 (crime date), June 29, 2014 (arrest date)

Sentence: Faces life in federal prison

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/tampa-man-pleads-guilty-attempted-enticement-child-sex