Mississippi Man Sentenced to 63 Months in Prison for Attempting to Transfer Obscene Material to a Minor

According to court documents, DEFIORE was an adult male resident of Carriere, Mississippi who was released on August 19, 2022 from a federal correctional institution upon completion of his sentence in an unrelated matter.  Only days after his release, DEFIORE acquired a cellular phone and posted on a social media application that he desired a young girl.  Undercover FBI agents saw the post, pretended to be a fourteen-year-old female (“Minor”), and began corresponding with DEFIORE.  During the correspondence on August 24, 2022, and August 25, 2022, DEFIORE provided additional factual details about himself, including his age, location, and recent  release from prison.  He also expressed an interest in engaging in sexual activity with Minor at her location in Slidell, Louisiana.  DEFIORE told Minor that he was attempting to obtain transportation to Slidell and provided Minor with directions to his location. He then  encouraged her to travel to his location so they could engage in sexual activity.  Further investigation revealed that, between about August 24, 2022, and August 25, 2022, DEFIORE sent the same or similar pictures to approximately four other individuals he believed to be minors under the age of sixteen (16) years old.

This case was brought as 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 the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”