OCALA — A 44-year-old Ocala man has been sentenced to 46 months in federal prison after sending a sexually explicit image of himself to someone he believed was a 15-year-old girl, who was actually an undercover detective with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber imposed the sentence on Benjamin Hoover for the attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor. Hoover entered a guilty plea to the offense on January 7, 2026. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced the sentencing.
According to court documents, Hoover transferred the explicit image on July 23, 2025, to a person he believed was a 15-year-old girl. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the joint investigation that led to Hoover’s arrest and prosecution.
Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg prosecuted the case in the Middle District of Florida. The 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.”
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. The program is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.
Hoover faces federal supervised release following his 46-month prison term.