Thomas Allen Ebersole, Transporting A Minor, Florida 2023

Ocala, FL - In a disturbing case of child exploitation, Thomas Allen Ebersole, a 32-year-old resident of Dunnellon, Florida, has been arrested for transporting a minor with the intent to engage in sexual activity.

According to court records, Ebersole met a 16-year-old female while playing online video games. On December 28, 2023, Ebersole drove from his residence in Florida to Ohio, where the minor lived. Once there, Ebersole picked up the minor and immediately drove her back to Florida, where they engaged in sexual activity.

The minor stayed in Ebersole's home until January 3, 2024, when law enforcement was able to identify her location through the Internet Protocol (IP) address she used to play video games online. After law enforcement removed the minor from Ebersole's home, DNA results confirmed that Ebersole had engaged in sexual activity with her.

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.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Marion County Sheriff's Office, and the Lima (Ohio) Police Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Hannah Nowalk.

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 the United States Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Ebersole faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison if convicted.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/marion-county-man-arrested-transporting-minor-intent-engage-sexual-activity