Jacksonville Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Attempting to Entice a 13-Year-Old Child to Engage in Sexual Activity

Jacksonville, Florida - Jerry Alexander Cobb (38, Jacksonville) has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jordan E. Pratt to 10 years in federal prison for attempting to entice a 13-year-old child to engage in sexual activity. Cobb pleaded guilty on February 20, 2026. He was also ordered to serve a 12-year term of supervised release and to register as a sex offender. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

According to court documents, between July 18 and August 1, 2025, an FBI agent (UC) in Jacksonville was conducting an undercover operation on an online social media application (app) to identify adults who were seeking to make contact with and engage in sexual activity with children. During this operation, UC and app user "Jerry," who was later identified as Cobb, exchanged several private messages on the app. After UC advised Cobb that the "child" was 13 years old, Cobb asked for the location of the "child's" residence, whether the "child" could "sneak out at night," and if "she" was a "virgin."

On July 30, 2025, Cobb suggested that he and the "child" meet for sex and promised that he would use a condom. The next day, Cobb texted the "child," "[y]es I'm serious that we can [have] sex." On August 1, 2025, Cobb and the "child" made specific plans to meet later that day at a location in Jacksonville. Cobb took a car service from his apartment to this location to meet the purported 13-year-old "child." Upon arrival, Cobb was arrested by FBI agents.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' 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, rescue, and seek justice for child victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.