Alabama Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison for Child Exploitation Crimes

Tallahassee, Florida - Justin William Gifford, 26, of Enterprise, Alabama, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after being earlier found guilty by a federal jury in Tallahassee of one count of attempted enticement of a minor, one count of attempted transfer of obscene material to minors, and one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the sentence.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: "Our state and federal law enforcement partners are relentless in their pursuit of sexual predators, like this defendant, who seek to exploit and victimize kids online, and my office will continue to match their efforts with aggressive prosecutions to send these sick offenders to federal prison."

During the two-day jury trial, court records and evidence showed that the defendant was identified during a multi-agency law enforcement operation conducted in June 2025, after he responded to an online advertisement on a website known for escort services. Over a two-day period, the defendant engaged in increasingly sexually explicit text and telephone conversations with an undercover investigator posing as a 15-year-old child. During the conversations, Gifford sent an explicit photograph to the undercover investigator, then planned to meet the child to engage in sexual activity. The defendant was electronically tracked travelling from his home in Enterprise, Alabama to Panama City Beach, where he was arrested upon his arrival at the agreed location. After his arrest, forensic analysis of Gifford's seized cellular telephone verified the communications and the obscene image were sent by him from his phone.

In addition to the ten years in prison, upon release he will be required to serve a five-year period of supervised release.

"Our message to anyone who preys on children is simple: don't," said Sheriff Tommy Ford. "It doesn't matter where you're from or where you think you can hide. We will work alongside our law enforcement partners to find you, arrest you, and make sure you answer for your crimes. If you target our children, expect relentless pursuit and zero tolerance."

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Panama City Beach Police Department, the Bay County Sheriff's Office, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Eric K Mountin

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, Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl.