OCALA, Fla. — A Florida man has plead guilty as result of a joint Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Orlando investigation for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity.
Rickey Lee Miller Jr., 45, of Ocala, has pleaded guilty. Miller faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years and up to life in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court records, on July 27, a detective from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office posed as a 15-year-old girl on an online messaging platform. Miller contacted the undercover detective’s account and initially asked if she wanted to “hang out.” Miller then engaged in a sexually explicit conversation with the detective. During that conversation, Miller asked the detective if she would be interested in having “some fun” with Miller and a female friend. He also asked, “[W]ill you tell my friend your 18[?] I really don’t want her to know your real age.” When Miller subsequently drove to a predetermined location to meet with the minor for sex, he was arrested by law enforcement. The cellphone located in Miller’s vehicle was confirmed to be the phone communicating with the undercover detective.
HSI Orlando partnered with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the Ocala Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Chiefland Police Department during the investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.