Florida Man Sentenced to 97 Months in Prison on Charge of Traveling to Sexually Exploit...

Florida Man Sentenced to 97 Months in Prison on Charge of Traveling to
Sexually Exploit a Minor

WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A Florida resident was
sentenced today to 97 months in prison on one count of traveling in interstate
commerce for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor,
Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Criminal Division,
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida R. Alexander Acosta and
Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI's Miami Division Jonathan I. Solomon
announced. Bobby Minnis, 46, was also ordered by U.S. District Court Judge
Paul C. Huck to pay a $7,500 fine and to serve a lifetime of supervised
release following his prison term.

According to information presented at the plea hearing in August 2008, Minnis
flew from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Texas to meet a 14-year-old minor in 2005
and traveled by car back to Fort Lauderdale with the minor. Minnis admitted
that once he was back in Florida he engaged in sexual acts with the minor. In
addition, Minnis admitted that he used the Internet to communicate with the
minor prior to traveling to Texas and misrepresented his identity to persuade
the minor to travel with him and engage in sexual conduct.

In a prior Florida state prosecution on related charges involving the same
minor, Minnis was convicted on five counts of lewd or lascivious battery and
one count of interference with custody of a minor. For these crimes, Minnis
was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Minnis was also convicted of
solicitation to commit murder because he attempted to have the minor killed
prior to the state trial. Minnis was sentenced to five years in prison for
the solicitation to commit murder charge, which will run consecutive to the 15
years. Minnis was already serving his prison sentence on the state conviction
prior to his plea on the federal case. Sixty months of Minnis' 97 month
federal sentence will run consecutive to his sentence for solicitation to
commit murder and 37 months will be served concurrent to his sentence
resulting from the state conviction of lewd and lascivious battery.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin Waugh-Farretta of the
U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney
Alecia Riewerts of the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity
Section (CEOS). The investigation was handled by the FBI, the Fort Lauderdale
Police Department and the High Tech Investigative Unit of CEOS.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, +1-202-514-2007, TDD,
+1-202-514-1888