Acting United States Attorney James R. Klindt
Middle District of Florida

SOUTH CAROLINA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO
FEDERAL CHARGE OF INTERSTATE TRAVEL TO HAVE SEX WITH A MINOR

Jacksonville, FL - Acting U.S. Attorney James R. Klindt, Michael J. Folmar, Special Agent in Charge of the Jacksonville Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, today announced that James Edward Dove, age 27, of Beech Island, South Carolina pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Jacksonville to the single count in an indictment charging him with interstate travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. The maximum penalties are a term of imprisonment of not more than 30 years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both and a term of supervised release of at least 5 years up to life. A sentencing date for Dove has not yet been set.

According to court documents filed on August 15, 2007, Dove traveled by car from Beech Island, South Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida on April 17, 2007 for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with who he (Dove) believed was a 13 year-old female child. However, the "13 year-old female child" was actually an investigator with the State of Florida Attorney General's Office Child Predator CyberCrime Unit. Court documents also indicated that Dove had engaged in online "chats" and email by computer with the investigator during the two weeks prior to his travel, and during these "chats" Dove described the sex acts that he wanted to perform with the "child."

“We have seen time and time again that internet child predators will go to extraordinary lengths to victimize children,” said Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum. “This sort of behavior is despicable and very dangerous. We are committed to presenting a united front against these individuals.”

The case was investigated by the Child Predator CyberCrime Unit of the State of Florida Attorney General’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown is handling the prosecution of this case.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales created Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney's Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information on Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The Florida Attorney General's Child Predator CyberCrime Unit is a member of the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a federally funded program working nationwide to educate and support law enforcement to stop these crimes, and the FBI Cyber Taskforce in Jacksonville. The unit has made 48 arrests since October 2005 and has referred several cases to be prosecuted by federal authorities. More information on the Florida Attorney General's CyberCrime initiative is available at http://www.myfloridalegal.com.