In a troubling development reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, a Jacksonville man, identified as Tony Leroy Bartley Jr., aged 37, was detained for allegedly attempting to lure a 13-year-old into sexual activity, a crime that could land him in federal prison for a minimum of 10 years or up to a life sentence, with an added possibility of lifetime supervised release. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office announcement, Bartley was apprehended by FBI agents last Tuesday, in Ponte Vedra Beach and awaits an upcoming detention hearing slated for tomorrow.
The arrest stems from an FBI undercover operation conducted on a social media platform from June 17 to July 30, during which Bartley, using the username “keven”, initiated communication with an agent posing as a minor, his messages promising a salacious encounter despite being informed of the ‘child’s’ young age — Bartley not only inquired about the fictitious adolescent’s sexual encounters but also explicitly detailed his own intentions and sent a graphic self-image. The incident now adds to the growing list of individuals targeted under Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative fighting the scourge of child sexual exploitation and abuse since 2006.
Further details from court documents reveal that “keven” and the undercover agent exchanged several messages via the app and text, where Bartley described sexual acts he wished to perform on the supposed child after being informed of the agent’s alleged age, showing a blatant disregard for legal and moral boundaries. This case was a collaborative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office; Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown is in charge of the prosecution…