Tallahassee man sentenced for making an attempt to journey abroad to fulfill minor

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – A Tallahassee man was sentenced to 11 years in federal jail after pleading responsible to attempting to solicit intercourse from a minor he met by way of a web-based recreation.

Austin Keith Hibbert, 25, pleaded responsible to making an attempt to entice or persuade a minor to have interaction in sexual exercise, making an attempt to journey for the aim of partaking in illicit sexual conduct and transferring obscene materials to an individual underneath 16 earlier this 12 months.

Court paperwork present that between May 2023 and August 2024, Hibbert was chatting on social media with a 13-year-old from Northern Europe. The two met by way of “a popular internet game,” in keeping with paperwork.

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The communication rapidly grew to become sexual in nature and Hibbert advised the kid he was going to journey to Estonia to fulfill them. Records present Hibbert additionally despatched express movies to the kid.

In August 2024, legislation enforcement found he had gotten a passport and booked a flight to Estonia. Police intercepted Hibbert on the airport and searched his baggage, the place they discovered his passport, a bracelet, and a field of condoms.

A later search of his gadgets confirmed Hibbert’s communications with the kid, his journey plans and that he had booked a lodge close to the place the kid lived.

Estonian police mentioned this case is a good instance of cooperation and that the struggle in opposition to youngster sexual exploitation is international.

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