Federal Jury Convicts Panama City Man of Attempting To Entice A Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity

Tallahassee, Florida - Michael Ray Pennington, 60, of Panama City, Florida, was found guilty by a federal jury of attempting to entice a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity. The verdict was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: "This successful trial verdict was built upon the excellent investigative work of our state and federal law enforcement partners and secured thanks to the outstanding courtroom advocacy of my federal prosecutors. My office remains firmly committed to protecting our communities by aggressively prosecuting predators, like this defendant, who seek to sexually exploit and victimize children through online platforms and apps."

Trial testimony revealed that in November 2025, federal and local law enforcement conducted an undercover operation to identify and apprehend offenders who use the internet to sexually exploit children. During the operation, an undercover law enforcement officer posted a fictitious advertisement on a website commonly used for prostitution. The defendant responded to the ad and was informed by the undercover agent that he was speaking to a 15-year-old child. The defendant then expressed an interest in engaging in sexual activity with the child in exchange for money. Upon arrival at an arranged meeting location, the defendant was arrested. A search of the defendant's phone confirmed that he was the person communicating with the undercover agent through both text messaging and phone calls.

Pennington faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum of life imprisonment. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.

The case involved a joint investigation by the Bay County Sheriff's Office and Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Emma Schwan and Meredith L. Steer.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 13, 2026, at 2:00 pm at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee before United States District Judge Mark E. Walker.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation's principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of FloridaLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. website. For more information about the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl.