Juvenile probation officer sentenced to federal prison for soliciting sexual relations with an eleven-year-old in the Eastern District of Texas

PLANO, Texas - A juvenile probation officer was sentenced to federal prison for 190 months for soliciting sexual relations with an eleven-year-old, announced Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Steven Dale Criddle, 51, a former Juvenile Probation Officer from Bryan, Texas, pleaded guilty to attempted coercion and enticement of a minor and was sentenced to 190 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle on July 1, 2026.

According to information presented in court, Criddle was convicted for conversing on the dark web with who he believed to be a mother that would allow Criddle to sexually molest her eleven-year-old daughter. Arrangements were made, and on September 28, 2025, Criddle drove three hours from Bryan to Wylie, Texas, the location where he planned to sexually molest the eleven-year-old girl. Criddle was apprehended by law enforcement and admitted that he traveled to Wylie to sexually molest the girl. He further admitted that he had child pornography on his cell phone.

This case is 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 U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Anderson.