Pasco County Man Indicted for Attempting to Meet a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity and Produce Child Sexual Abuse Material

Ocala, Florida - Michael Joseph Vitoff (50, Zephyrhills) has been charged by indictment with attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and attempted production of child sexual abuse material. If convicted, he faces a minimum sentence of 10 years, up to life, on the attempted enticement offense and a minimum sentence of 15 years, up to 30 years, for the attempted production offense. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

According to court documents, between June 2 and June 5, 2026, Vitoff communicated online with someone whom he believed was a 13-year-old girl. The minor, however, was an undercover Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agent. During the conversation, Vitoff asked the minor to produce sexually explicit images of herself and send them to him. Vitoff also expressed his desire to engage in sexual activity with the minor.

Vitoff was arrested on June 5, 2026, when he traveled to a location in Marion County to engage in sexual activity with the minor. He remains in custody pending the resolution of the criminal case.

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.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Marion County Sheriff's Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.

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 United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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.