Panama City Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison for Attempting to Entice a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity

Tallahassee, Florida - Michael Ray Pennington, 60, of Panama City, Florida, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after being found guilty by a federal jury of attempted enticement of a minor. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: "Thanks to the excellent investigative work of our state and federal law enforcement partners, my office was able to secure a federal conviction and substantial prison sentence for this defendant. Keeping our kids safe from sexual predators, both online and in our communities, remains a top priority for my office, and we will continue to aggressively prosecute these cases to achieve that goal."

Court documents and 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.

"Those who seek to exploit children will find no refuge online or in our communities," said Homeland Security Investigations Tampa Acting Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Ingegno. "Predators who target vulnerable children for sexual abuse will be identified, arrested, and held accountable. Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners remain relentless in protecting children and pursuing those who would harm them."

Upon his release from federal prison, Pennington will be required to serve eight years of supervised release and register as a sex offender.

The case involved a joint investigation by the Bay County Sheriff's Office and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Emma Schwan prosecuted the case.

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 theU.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.