Seth Estes Vanover, Attempting to Entice an 11-Year-Old to Engage in Sexual Activity, Florida 2022

A Texas police officer has been charged with attempting to entice an 11-year-old to engage in sexual activity in Florida.

Seth Estes Vanover, a 50-year-old lieutenant with the Longview Police Department, was arrested on October 12, 2022, at the Longview Police Department in Longview, Texas. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years and up to life imprisonment, as well as a potential life term of supervised release.

The indictment alleges that Vanover used an online social messaging app to contact an undercover FBI agent posing as the parent of an 11-year-old child. Vanover, using the username ‘jattleson,’ sent the agent photos depicting child erotica and discussed plans to meet the child in Florida for sexual activity.

The investigation began on July 25, 2022, when the undercover agent posted a notice in a public chat room. Vanover made contact using the private messaging feature on the app and engaged in multiple conversations over the next several weeks, discussing his intentions to engage in sexual activity with the 11-year-old child.

Further investigation by the FBI revealed that Vanover used IP addresses associated with his work as a police officer and his residence in Diana, Texas.

An indictment is merely a formal charge, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.

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