Tadd Andrew Melton, Attempted Production of Child Sex Abuse Material, Florida 2022

A Jacksonville man was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for attempting to produce child sex abuse material, authorities said.

Tadd Andrew Melton, 33, was ordered by U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis to serve a lifetime term of supervised release, in addition to his prison sentence. He was also ordered to pay $189,000 in restitution to the victims of his offenses.

Melton pleaded guilty on April 26, 2022, and has been in custody since his arrest on July 23, 2021.

According to court documents, Melton, using the username ‘flshine69,’ began chatting on a social media application with a woman he believed to be the mother of a nine-year-old girl. However, the woman was an undercover FBI agent. During their conversation, Melton distributed child sex abuse materials multiple times to the undercover agent.

Melton requested to purchase used underwear from the ‘child’ and asked the agent to create child sex abuse materials for him, describing in detail what he wanted depicted in the images. He also stated he ‘would love to be’ actively abusing children and had ‘no limit’ as to a child’s age, and that he had always been interested in young children.

Law enforcement identified Melton as the individual using ‘flshine69’ based on his IP address, vehicle, and online account records. On July 23, 2021, the FBI executed a federal search warrant at Melton’s residence. During the execution of the warrant, Melton spoke with FBI agents and admitted to using the ‘flshine69’ account.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington.

The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

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